Beginning of the End?
by Zerodius
Summary: What if Nightmare was not the true brain behind the NME? What if a greater force remained hidden, leading the operations from behind the scenes? How will this force react when it finds out Nightmare was beaten up by a kid?
1. Angry Dark Queen

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah... 

This story is basically what happens shortly after Nightmare loses the final battle in the anime... but with a few changes.

First, this is seen from the bad guys' point of view.

Second, I mixed game elements in it (which means that Zero of the Dark Matter will appear).

Third, in this version of the ending, I assume that the anime takes place AFTER the games unstead of before.

* * *

"WHAT?" 

Nightmare stood before her master. Looking at his face, it was obvious he was ashamed... He had no good excuses this time... if he had failed, it was entirely his fault.

In front of him, sitting on a throne entirely made of the skeletons of different species, was the Queen of Darkness and the true brain behind the NME... the infamous Dark Matter queen, 02.

Her current host was an adult fairy. She was wearing a long, purple robe as well as silver bracelets on both arms. A black crown covered with rubies was on her head. She truly had the looks of a queen, that's sure... the looks of a very small queen that is. Altought the fairy was an adult, it was merely bigger than a common dreamlander.

It was really strange, seeing the humongous Nightmared terrorised by such a small being... but it was only small in appearance for a power that far surpass Nightmare lies within the body of this poor fairy, who was enslaved more than five centuries ago, kept alive solely thanks to the power of the sadistic queen of evil.

"M... m... my Queen! Please understand!" begged the caped villain.

"Nightmare... my patience has limits! Ten millenias... it took you TEN millenias to eliminate those weaklings know as the Star Warriors! You realise this? I allowed you to wield the most advanced technology in the Universe! I gave you the command of some of the most powerful demons on the physical plane!... and then, you get whipped so easily by a SINGLE Star Warrior... and a kid at that?"

"But... it had the Star Rod!" replied Nightmare, trying to justify his failure.

"ENOUGH!" thundered the queen. Obviously, the queen didn't believed this.

She jumped off her large throne and slowly flied to the face of Nightmare's face. She then grabbed the place where his neck should be and raised him above her, staring into his eyes. Pure rage could be seen within her blood-red, burning eyes...

"You are the ONLY one among the three Great Generals that did not bring me results. The ONLY one! Dark MetaKnight and Dark Reaper conquered many planets and defeated entire species with many less ressources than you! Incompetance shall NOT be tolerated! Not any longer!"

The fairy then thrown the poor villain into the wall, nearly breaking it (the wall, not Nightmare). Nightmare was knocked out instantly from the impact.

Then, a dark figure, merely a bit smaller than the dark queen, teleported just before her.

"I am here, my queen." said the figure. It's voice was noble and calm.

"Dark MetaKnight... you are here as I can see." stated the queen, who had seemingly calmed down.

Dark MetaKnight came out of the shadows and into plain view. He was grey, almost black and his yellow, almost red eyes glowed behind his dull grey mask. Pieces of black armor covered his shoulders and he also had a dark-red cape. Altought it wasn't visible, 02 knew that he was carrying the unholy sword, Black Hole, with him. Black Hole was Galaxia's perfect antithesis and had been created millenias ago by 02 herself for Dark MetaKnight to use. Dark MetaKnight had used the sword trought the generations to kill, one by one, each of MetaKnight's and Kirby's descendants.

Dark MetaKnight stared at her queen for a while and then begun his report. "My Excellency... it seems that the Star Warrior who defeated the Great General Nightmare was a pink being... and it also seems that he had been trained by MetaKnight's descendant."

The queen turned to Dark MetaKnight, obviously filled with interest.

"Continue on!" commanded the dark queen.

"This descendant was also wielding Galaxia and he did not gave the sword to the child... he didn't needed to. The child was able to wield the Star Rod all by itself... but this isn't the most surprising fact we found."

The evil queen began to wonder... a child, wielding the Star Rod? He hadn't believed it when Nightmare told her... but Dark MetaKnight's code of honor prevented him from lying to her, he was reliable. So... Nightmare was saying the truth... but still, a child is a child, right? That moron still doesn't have an excuse for losing to a child.

"We may also believe that this child... is the reincarnation of the half-breed, Kirby."

02 smiled as Dark MetaKnight finished. This dreamlander, a reincarnation of the all-powerful half-Dark Matter being that was created from her cells by Nightmare ten millenias ago? Impossible! The Dark Matter blood diluted in the veins of his descendants and the legendary power of the Copy ability was lost, never to return again... and anyway, Dark MetaKnight had personally terminated the very last of Kirby's descendants personally more than five millenias ago. It is totally impossible for this dreamlander to be related to the legendary half-breed.

"Dark MetaKnight... do you have any evidence of what you claim? After all, it is impossible that a mere Star Warrior could wield the holy power of Copy which only those with black blood may wield..."

Dark MetaKnight approached 02's throne and then pressed a few buttons... for 02's throne was more than just a throne. Beneath the bones was a complex network of wires and systems; the throne was not truly made of skeletons as it was only a cosmetic change. Using the throne's many functions as well as the tons of monitors that hanged from the ceiling, 02 watched over everything that went on in the entire Universe and issued orders, leading the Forces of Darkness in her mad quest to conquer the Universe.

Dark MetaKnight inserted a disc into a hidden slot in the throne and the largest monitor activated itself...

A video was displayed on the screen, showing Kirby copying an enemy and then using that ability. This was a common ability only, something simple, like Fire... but to 02, this was absolutely unbelievable. The pink being... it was not merely possessing! It was not merely mimicking his foe's powers! He was truly, completely stealing the powers from the foe and then turning them against the enemy! No doubt about it... ONLY a being with Dark Matter blood can do this!... which means that this being is the real thing, the reincarnation of Kirby!... but how? 02 was puzzled as for the origin of this reincarnation... it couldn't be a descendant of Kirby... Kirby's line ended long before this being was born...

Once the video was finished, the monitorwas deactivated and Dark MetaKnight took back the disc.

"I... I cannot believe this!" said the queen, still not completely believing what she had seen...

"The video is genuine. They even gave him the name of the half-breed to him: Kirby... and while to these fools, his "puyo" sounds like nothing but babbling, it is obvious that this is..."

02 already knew the remaining of the sentance before Dark MetaKnight finished and interrupted him...

"... the ancient Dark Matter language... only Dark Matters of royal blood knows of this language... the only remaining beings in the Universe who knows of it are myself, you, Dark MetaKnight, becease I taught you, Gooey, and..." said the queen, unable to finish her sentance as well.

"...Kirby. Back when he was alive, your husband, Medius, taught him how to speak it. The version this reincarnation speaks is quite crude... but it's genuine nonetheless. I fear that he is back... the Enemy is reborn." said Dark MetaKnight, finishing 02's sentance.

02 slowly approached the wall and grabbed Nightmare's cape, pulled him out of the wall. She then slapped him silly until he woke up.

"Come on, you incompetant fool! Wake up!" commanded the evil queen.

"OW! OW! I'm awake! I'm awake!" quickly said the villain, trying to keep his queen from harming him any further as he suddenly woke up.

"Tell me... where do this... child... comes from?" asked 02, suspecting Nightmare was the key to this riddle.

After all, the original Kirby was created by Nightmare by mixing cells from the original MetaKnight and from 02 herself. The results were astounding. The newborn had the Copy power from Dark Matters while being able to stand in both Light and Darkness without danger. The newborn was called "Kirby", which was the ancient Dark Matter word for "unique". Unique... this is what Kirby was... He was the first and only of his kind, he was supposed to become the next step in Dark Matter evolution. As soon as he would have grown old enough to survive tissue sampling, a tissue sample would have been taken and infused into every Dark Matter embryo of every pregnant female Dark Matter, causing the entire Dark Matter specie to artificially evolve into beings that, finally, would never have to fear the Light ever again.

However, a serie of terrible events had destroyed all those hopes... 02's husband's death... Kirby turning against it's creators... Gooey betraying the entire specie... various parts of Darkstar being devastated... war, death, suffering, destruction...

Even now, the mess continued on as war raged on. Dark MetaKnight had been filled with hope when news of the Star Warriors's ultimate defeat reached him. Finally, with the final enemies gone, Darkness would rule and with no Light to oppose it, no new war would occur and thus, the endless slaughters would end... but unfortunately, things were not as they seemed...

Dark MetaKnight was sure of it... this child was a threat, he was a threat to the queen's plans of revenge, to the Nightmare's scientific progress, a threat to Dark Reaper's dream of uniting all the galaxies under a single banner, a threat to the imminent but fragile peace! The Forces of Light must accept that they fought and lost! The war must not continue on!... and for that to happen, Kirby and all those fools on Popstar who oppose the queen must be crushed!... and for this to be carried out, 02 must first know where this new Kirby came from so she can prepare her troops accordingly!

Dark MetaKnight turned to Nightmare. 02 was awaiting the anwser too... Finally, after a long pause, Nightmare anwsered.

"Oh? That child? Used some old samples from the original Kirby that I had kept in a statis tank for millenias. I tried to create an army of Kirby clones so that I could destroy MetaKnight's descendant easily. You see, Galaxia is pretty s..." Nightmare could not finish his sentance.

"YOU DID WHAT?" 02 could not believe it! He had DARED to hide from her the fact that he had taken tissue samples from him in a way or another! This was unconceivable! Such an information was VITAL! She was shocked by the incompetance of this fool...

Dark MetaKnight, him, fell backward, his eyes widened. Nightmare was very smart but he was know for lacking a sense of common sense... but not THAT much! Nightmare must have received one hit too many on the head from those Star Warriors trought the millenias!

02 shacked Nightmare violently, completely enraged! Her eyes were almost out of their orbits and her face had turned totally red. Even MetaKnight had rarely seen the queen so angry...

"YOU COMPLETE, TOTAL IDIOTIC AND RETARDED MORON! WHY DID YOU GAVE A KIRBY CLONE TO THE ENEMY? YOU ARE COMPLETELY INSANE!... AND WHY DID YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THAT! I TOUGHT YOU HAD NEVEROBTAINED SAMPLES FROM KIRBY!" screamed the queen. Her eyes were filled with a mix of burning rage and sheer terror.

Already, 02 could sense it... this clone would bring suffering to the world, just like the original did... history was repeating all over again...

Dark MetaKnight made a step backward, not daring to intervene directly... but his code of honor prevented him from running away while her queen was literrally in a state of total hysteria.

"Please my queen! The original Kirby was an adult! This one is merely a child and furthermore, it's not as if the Crystal Sword was in their possession! I did conquer Ripple Star five millenias ago after all!"

02 stopped shaking Nightmare as she calmed down. This was true... Nightmare was maybe a Great General, but she kept him around mainly for his value as a comic relief... and becease, altought she hatred to admit it, becease the two had been friends ever since they were children. Compared to Dark MetaKnight and Dark Reaper, Nightmare was nothing more than a clown. It didn't meant anything if this clone could defeat Nightmare. Heck! If the Star Warriors were able to defeat Nightmare so many times before being destroyed, then it shouldn't surprise her that Nightmare would fail so easily!

As for MetaKnight... he was meaning it, this clone was not a threat... not yet. Altought both Galaxia and the Star Rod are mighty weapons, only the legendary Crystal Sword is powerful enough to truly kill 02 and her Great Generals. When Kirby fought 02 in Darkstar's atmosphere, during the final battle millenias ago, she survived merely becease Kirby had inflicted the finishing hit with a beam shot from the blade unstead of striking her directly. If he had struck directly... Dark MetaKnight didn't wanted to think about it.

As long as the Crystal Sword was in the hands of the Forces of Darkness, they would be safe... Dark MetaKnight would guard the sword with his life... The Crystal Sword was more important than his life. It was the most holy of all holy weapons... nope! It's the most holy of all holy things. The Crystal Sword was made from the tears of all life-forms, as they seen those before them die from war... all the suffering... all the sadness of the Universe was within the holy blade... as well as all of the hopes of all beings. Whoever wields the Crystal Sword wields absolute power... and altought Dark MetaKnight would have gladly given the holy blade to his queen, he judged that in her insane state, it would be unwise. In her fits of rage, 02 would probably forgets why she fights in the first place and destroy everything... and as for wielding the blade himself, Dark MetaKnight is not worthy. He dares not taint the blade with his hands... he who is too much of a coward to openly criticise the way 02 has fell to her enemies' level, becoming what she despises the most: a heartless tyrant.

During this time, 02 tought... and then, a part of what Nightmare said a bit sooner during this meeting returned to her mind...

"Nightmare..."

"Yes my queen?" asked Nightmare, wondering if she was going to go medieval on him again...

"Do you still have some tissue samples left from the original Kirby?" asked the evil queen.

"Yes, I have plenty of them!" anwsered Nightmare. He was happy. Finally, this would make her happy!... and it did!

The evil Dark Matter queen smiled... and behind his mask, so did Dark MetaKnight. Both shared the same toughts...

Nightmare was stupid enough to throw away the Kirby clone he created... Dark MetaKnight and his queen wouldn't.

Soon, this stupid Kirby wannabe kid shall face far more than he can handle... oh yes... far more...

It is time for the NME to start producing and selling stuff of "slightly" higher quality to King Dedede's descendant now...

* * *

King Dedede stared at the empty monitor that once allowed him to call the NME salesman. He had still hadn't give up on his dream of driving Kirby out using a powerful monster... but well, since the NME is gone, no more monsters. 

Just for the heck of it, Dedede grabbed the remote and activated the monitor, especting only statics... and then...

FLASH!

"Hi mister and thank you for contacting the NME! I am the NME salesman and I'll be more than happy in guiding you as you look at our large selections of monsters on sale! So... how can I help you, mister?"

The NME salesman's face was on the monitor's display. Dedede barely believed it...

"Oh!" said the salesman. "It is you, our good client, King Dedede! We just received a new item all recently! We call it the "Batamon". Since you're an especially good client, you'll receive a 90 discount off your first Batamon! So... shall you buyone of them?"

King Dedede tought for a second that he was dreaming... so he pinched himself. Seeing as the face wasn't disappearing from the monitor, it became obvious this wasn't a dream...

"Well! Wait a little minute!" said the king, full of confidence. "I want to know I'm buyin' first! Come on! Tell me the features it got!"

* * *

On the other side of the monitor, on a far-off star where Nightmare's all-new base stood, the new NME salesman smiled, staring down at the list of features of the new Kirby clone Nightmare had created. It would be hard not to make it seem Dedede was buying an exact copy of what he hates the most... but he would try. 

During this time, in her throne room, 02 laughed as she saw Dedede on her monitor.

Soon enough, Dedede would destroy that pesky reincarnation of the original Kirby and then, Popstar will easily fall in her hands... as well as Galaxia and then, she'll be one step further to total world domination!

02 laughed like the maniac she is... and so did Dedede, unaware that he was about to once againbecome the unwilling puppet of the Forces of Darkness.

In the shadows, Dark MetaKnight hoped for a quick victory. Light had struggled long enough... it was finally time for peace to happen... altought the Forces of Light would probably never espect that kind of peace... soon...

THE END

* * *

That's it! This will probably not be continued but if I get good reviews... maybe I shall. Anyway! 

Comments and suggestions are welcome.


	2. Dream Matter Purchase

NOTE: Copyrighted characters belong to their respective owners blablabla. 

Decided to actually turn this into an actual story... and chapter 2 is still seen from the villains' point of view!

* * *

Slowly, she opened her eyes and smiled.

Nightmare frowned. This was the part he hated the most... Every single newborn monster needed to have a positive image of their master as they are created. Unless their first impression of him was one of a loving father, the case of Kirby would happen again... and he had learnt the hard way, thousands of years ago...

As such, everytime he created an exeptionnal monster that needed personnal care, he would step on hispride and actually help on raising the monster... which was rather hard and painful, considering that Nightmare is entirely made of defect dreams and thus, has about as much good in him that there is intelligence within the blank mind of a waddle dee. Still, it was needed and he would do it... even if this thing was pink, round, and could use Copy like the horrific pink thingy that busted his body a while ago.

Nightmare leaned foward and tickled the small puffball, putting his nicest expression on his mask as he made the cute ball laugh.

"Who's your daddy? Who's the daddy that loooves his little girl? That's me, of course! Soooo cute!" blabbered Nightmare in a soft tone. He felt sick from doing this... Why couldn't it be Dark MetaKnight or Dark Reaper doing this? Whywas he stuck playing the role of the adoptive father?They knewhe hated doing this!If this carried on, he would puke!

Suddenly, Nightmare felt some kind of shock... no doubt about it! It was the transmitter's signal! Saved from this disgusting pinky thingyby it!

"Your daddy have work to do! Bye bye!" Nightmare put on a fake smile on his mask and left the little pinky's room.

As soon as he closed the door, Nightmare let out a loud sigh, relieved. Man do he HATED raising those stupid puffballs! Well, the result was worth it.

For the sake of pulling off the job before the next millenia and also for the sake of maintening his sanity, Nightmare had dramatically shortened the childhood of the half-Dark Matter creatures.

Ten millenias ago, they had been able to make the original Kirby age at the speed of a regular creature, meaning he reached adulthood at about18 yearsas opposed to 300... and since he was created ten millenias ago, back when the NME didn't existed and that Dark Matters still relied mostly onLiquid technology, he tought that shortening the childhood of half-breeds further would be like, really easy... but it had not been the case.

He had been completely, entirely unable to make half-breeds grow instantly like other monsters. Even using Vortex or even the experimental Paradox technology, they were unable to make a half-breed's childhood shorter than a week. This was really, really a huge improvement compared to the orignal Kirby and to that half-baked copy with it's 300 years... but still, this meant that mass-production wouldn't be possible until a good while.

As Nightmare reached the command room, the NME Salesman stared at him, still smiling.

"Master! I finally did it! It was hard but I convainced that gullible Dedede from buying a Kirby without making it seem like it!" announced the salesman, happy.

Nightmare tought he had a heart attack when the salesman called his creation a Kirby. So did the green male puffball sitting next to the teleportation machine.

"Hey old man!" yelled a green copy of Kirby. "Get it straight! I'm a Dream Matter!"

Dream Matter, this was the name given to the half-breeds. Millenias ago, Nightmare hadn't bothered giving a name to the new sub-specie of Dark Matters since Kirby was the only one of his kind... but since there were now a few of them, a need for an identification code had arisen. After the Dark Troopers, Dark Limbas, Para Matters, and Mirror Matters... now comes the Dream Matters, the sub-specie for Kirby and all the other half-breeds of his kind!

Nightmare had originallytought of Nightmare Matter since these half-breeds would be MetaKnight's descendant worst nightmare... but both the Queen and Dark MetaKnight had decided against it, claiming it to be a lame attempt by Nightmare of claiming more fame than he already had. As such, the name was changed to Dream Matter for they would finally fulfill 02's dream...

The green Dream Matter walked toward Nightmare...

It still surprised him, no matter how many times he seen it... physically, there were almost no differences between child and adult Dream Matters since they grew to full size after a few days (even for the copy on Popstar) and gained their final voice tonevery early too. Yet... somehow, at a certain point, Dream Matters suddenly gain, out of the blue, the ability to mate and undergo deep changes as their adult instincts awaken. Basically, there was no such things as teenage Dream Matters just like there are no teenage Dark Matters. The stages were baby, child, adult with no teenager between child and adult... which was a good thing. Teenagers are, whatever the specie, always either rebellious or overzealous and both cases are bad. The lack of a teenager stage in the Dream Matters' growth was a blessing.

The green Dream Matter stood in front of Nightmare and waited... then, the NME Salesman looked at his watch... the Dream Matter began to tap his right foot against the floor... and finally, Nightmare remembered what he was saying.

"Ha! You received a command from Dedede, right?" asked Nightmare.

The NME Salesman smiled again, glad that Nightmare finally got serious again! The green Dream Matter, him, asked himself if the masked villain was REALLY that so-called Great General, Nightmare.

"Yes! Dedede wants one Dream Matter! The only problem is that... well, I don't which one to send!"

The green Dream Matter grinned. It was his chance to shine! He would honor the NME and make a fool out of those who stands in the way of the Forces of Darkness!

The Dream Matter made a step foward.

"Send me, master! I mean it! I, the Dream Matter Aldeyl, shall not fail you!"

Nightmare stared at Aldeyl, the green Dream Matter. It was merely his second day as an adult and already, he was so eager to go out and fight? That was so weird... well, not that it should surprise him. Voyl and Silvera too asked him to be the ones to be "bought" by Dedede. Still, Nightmare wanted to keep his most competant Dream Matters for later, when they would be truly needed... and yet, he had to send Dedede an adult or else, he would ask himself questions... and since production only begun three weeks ago, there's not that many adults which meant he had to choose wisely.

Nightmare smiled... Aldeyl wasn't terribly competant or experienced... but he wasn't a pushover by any mean. Yes, most definitely, he would be the one they would send!

Nightmare put his hand on Aldeyl's shoulder as he smiled. It was one of the rare moments when he spoke to his creations acting like a father... and that his acting reflected his feelings.

"Alright, Aldeyl! Go on! For the glory of the NME! Show that pink puffball and that lame masked knight our true power!"

Aldeyl smiled. He was so proud... altought he seemed lame at first, he already liked serving under Nightmare. He was so evil and cool at the same time...

"I will not disappoint you! I will carry out your orders or die trying!" sweared Aldeyl!

"Good!"

Nightmare stood triumphantly above the green living ball.

"Make me proud!... but remember to bear with Dedede's orders! Our cover has remained for more than ten millenias so far... and it must remain!"

"Sure thing!" replied Aldeyl. "I'll make sure Dedede won't regret "buying" me from the high-quality stores of the NME!"

Nightmare stepped into the shadows, away from the camera.

"I'm going to watch the transaction, if you don't mind." said Nightmare to the salesman.

The salesman's jaw dropped... it was such a honor... he was about to perform in front of the official leader of the NME!

"Gr... Gr... Great Nightmare! It's a honor!"

"Just relax and do your job, OK? Remember, I'm NOT in the room!" reminded Nightmare.

Aldeyl stood on the middle of the teleporter and then, the NME Salesman activated the computer systems.

On the monitor appeared the picture of King Dedede and Escargoon.

"Ha! Greeting mister Dedede! I believe you had a fine day, right?" begun the salesman.

"Yeah yeah!" interrupted King Dedede, a note of annoyance in his voice. "Just send the monster now, will ya? I've been waiting for two weeks now and that pink thingy is driving me mad with it's "puyos"!"

Aldeyl smiled and made a gesture to the NME Salesman, signaling that he was ready.

The NME Salesman whispered to himself...

"Well, there goes nothing. I hope he won't flip seeing what he bought..."

The NME Salesman pressed the switch and in a flash of light, Aldeyl disappeared!... and reappeared in King Dedede's castle, as they could clearly see on the monitor.

Instantly, King Dedede's and Escargoon's jaws dropped.

Before them was Kirby!... well, exept that he was green and seemed somewhat more mature...

Aldeyl approached Dedede and then bowed before him...

"Greetings master. I am Aldeyl, yourhumble servant."

King Dedede stared at the green puffball for a while and then turned to the NME Salesman.

"Is that some kind of bad joke?" asked the king.

"Errr... well... if you're not satisfied... we could maybe give you... err... a refund... perhaps?" the NME Salesman was trying his best not topanic... obviously, it was very hard.

Nightmare, him, felt the urge to bang his head into the wall. He KNEW he should have modified the DNA code for the Dream Matters' physicalappearance more! Merely changing the color was not enough! 02 would KILL him when she would learn that!

But then... King Dedede grinned.

"Heh! A refund? Are you insane? I get to beat up the stupid vacuum machine with a vacuum machine of my own! Brillant, really! Kirby will never espect this! Indeedy! That's the best purchase I ever made!"

The NME Salesman let out a loud sigh, relieved. He put on his best smile and then carried out the last, trivial steps of the transaction...

"Of course! Now, as always, we're waiting for your payments! Just place it on the teleportation machine and activate it! We'll also teleport you a document containing your full warranty!"

"Heh! Still proceeding this way? I see!" said the fat king.

He turned to Escargoon.

"Go get the waddle dees! Get them to carry the payment to the machine!"

Escargoon made his way toward the exit of the room, opened the door, and yelled some orders.

A short while later, the waddle dees came, placing all kinds of objects made of pure gold on the teleporting device. Then, King Dedede activated and the gold appeared in the room, behind the NME Salesman.

"I hope your little Kirby-wannabe will bring results!" said Dedede. "He's really expensive, ya know! Almost a full week of taxes if you ask me!"

Maybe the puffball costed a week to Dedede... but to the NME, producing those thingies costed an entire month-worth of sales! For the same price, he would produce tons of dragons, giant robots, and even battleships!... but it was worth it. It had been nearly ten millenias since Nightmare created such a fine creature. It wasn't since the construction of the NME flagship, the Mad Mechanism, that he had created something as marvelous!

Small, weak monsters came to carry the gold out of the room and into the treasury. Not all experiments were successful and sometimes, the production lines made some mishaps and as such, weak or malformed monsters were sometimes born. While Dark Reaper didn't hesitated to put his own handicaped monsters into theGrinder, Nightmare didn't dared to do so, unstead using those mishaps as bottom-of-the-rank workers. Not only was it less cruel but the Grinder was a waste of electricity, if one asked Nightmare.

The Grinder was obsolete but Dark Reaper remained fond of it. It was a huge cube filled with thousands of saws and various harmful objects that slice, crush, and rip apart all beings put into it, reducing them into raw materials that could then be reused. Dark Reaper put anything into it... monsters that don't obey, handicaped troops, prisonners, traitors... anything, really. However, the problem with the Grinder was that some beings had really hard skins and furthermore, it was a quick but messy and painful death. As such, it was easier just to give another use to weak troops than to waste electricity killing them.

As for prisonners and traitors, there were much more refined way to torture and kill them. 02 fed on pure negative energies and sometimes enjoyed having a live soul into her plates... so this was one way of taking care of them. It was also easy just to use them in experiments or to simply sending them into deep space and let the lack of oxygen and gravity do the rest.

Anyway, the monsters finished getting the gold away and then, one of them placed the documents on the teleporting device and ran away.

The documents were teleported to King Dedede, who took the time to read them for once, and then, pleased with his transaction, King Dedede shut off the monitor.

The NME Salesman shut down the computer and turned to his master as he got out of the shadows.

"That wasn't too bad... I think." said the NME Salesman, more to himself than to his master.

"You were... adequate. Work on your smile and try to relax next time, OK?" said Nightmare.

The NME Salesman nodded and then, Nightmare left the room, returning to his lair.

King Dedede grinned evilly as he stared at his newest purchase, a Dream Matter or whatever they called it.

"Hmm... I wonder if that tiny puffball can do it." asked Escargoon to his King. "The last monsters we bought from the NME were huge and couldn't pull it off. I'm not sure this tiny itsy ball can do it."

Aldeyl was obviously upset by this.

"If I can do it? OF COURSE I can, old man! Anything your childish pinky loser can do, I can do it in ten times better! I mean it! I'll bring you slabs of Kirby steak for supper, master!"

Aldeyl grinned as he finished.

"I'M NOT OLD!" replied angrily Escargoon!

"He sure does have an unique personality for a monster. Much more lively and interesting than those mindless thingies I bought before!" stated Dedede, ignoring his raging underling (Escargoon, not Aldeyl).

King Dedede stood up from all his height.

Aldeyl stared at the duck king, remembering about some history files he read back in the NME base. They said that this loser's descendant, thousands of years ago, battled the original Kirby often just like his descendant fights the Kirby copy... but he wasn't anything like this loser. The original King Dedede was a bit of a bully but he was also a proud warrior who respected those stronger than he... altought in a competitive way... and the original King Dedede would have smashed the Kirby copy himself long ago, unstead of relying on external help! In fact, this King Dedede was pretty much a wuss compared to the original. Even his troops are shadows of their former selves for the original King Dedede did not just had a single waddle doo... he had TONS of them! He also built strong battle robots like Heavy Mole and had legendary creatures under his control like the original Kracko (which was nowhere as weak as the Kracko clones the NME now produce) and Whipsy Woods. In fact, back in his prime, the real King Dedede was considered a serious threat by the Queen... but now, he was only a clown, the legendary Dreamland kingdom now nothing more than a collection of sorry fools.

Still, even tought he didn't nearly lived up to the name of his legendary ancestor, King Dedede was still an imposing figure, towering high above the small green puffball.

King Dedede took out his hammer... or rather, a common wooden hammer. According to legends, THE legendary hammer the original Dedede used back in his prime was sealed on a distant land, like the Crystal Sword and Galaxia were... exept that the Crystal Sword is now in the NME's hands while MetaKnight's descendant unsealed Galaxia, using it in the fights against the NME.

"Now... I want to test out the power of my new purchase!" said Dedede, still grinning.

Escargoon smiled.

"I'll go get the waddle dees!" he said.

"No." said quickly King Dedede. "I want to test him... myself."

Aldeyl took a battle stance, knowing that he was about to fight his "master". He remembered his training... Open the mouth wide in a circular way, relax your muscles, suck in air and let the wind open your mouth to the needed height and width... then, duck while swallowing to ensure a safe possession and copy. Eject the body or whatever that was possessed under the form of a star of energy to ensure that nothing hamper the concentration as Copy is used.

King Dedede charged foward, placing his hammer to the side, preparing to strike!

Aldeyl closed his eyes relaxed... It was just like in training... Just relax and Copy your way to victory...

Suddenly, as King Dedede was about to strike, Aldeyl opened his eyes and opened wide his mouth, sucking in!

Soon, the air current became too strong and King Dedede lost his grip on his hammer, which Aldeyl quickly swallowed!

Then, in a flash of light, Aldeyl had the hammer ability!

"YAAAAAH!" yelled Aldeyl as he smacked King Dedede's right cheek with his hammer, sending him flying right into the wall with great strenght!

BAAAAAM!

It had been short... very short...

"GUARDS! Come here and make yourselves useful!" yelled Escargoon as he made it toward the king who had been hammered into the wall pretty badly.

However, as Escargoon and a couple of waddle dees got Dedede out of the wall, they found out he wasn't hurt that much!... and he wasn't angry! Not at all! He was laughing, even if he was looking pretty badly beaten up!

"Hahahaha! My best purchase ever! MY BEST PURCHASE EVER! Kirby won't stand a chance against our new monster!" said Dedede, still laughing.

"My majesty? Are you alright?" asked Escargoon, not sure if Dedede was laughing becease he was happy or becease he was just embarassed of being beaten so easily...

"Yes I am!" replied the king. "But Kirby won't! When they said ten times better, they meant it! Ten times the sucking power, ten times the actual power! What will Kirby do against such raw strenght? Nothing! Hahaha!"

Aldeyl smiled. It was right. He IS strong after all... and it is very probable that he may be ten times stronger than this "Kirby" guy. After all, he was a full-grown adult while this "Kirby" was a mere child!... still, he had heard rumors...

The other monsters inside of the base... they avoided him and the other Dream Matters. They were afraid of them becease they were like Kirby... like this pink monster. According to rumors, this child was not any child... he was the pink demon, Kirby, reborn... and just like the abomination spoken of in legends, he was said to be invincible. They said that he could turn any foe's patterns against itself, even when facing supposely stronger creatures... and in fact, there was no better proof of Kirby's threat than the fact that he had single-handely destroyed Nightmare'slast body. Normally, it took dozens, if not over a hundred of Star Warriors to destroy Nightmare... but this reincarnation... it did alone. This was unbelievable... but it was the truth. As such, people feared the pink wonder for many truly believed him to be THE Kirby, back from the dead to bring pain and misery to the NME!

Still, Aldeyl knew how tales could get out of hand... Kirby, some kind of god of destruction that came back from the dead? Please! Kirby had defeated 02 in the past only becease of stupid mistakes, not becease he was strong!... and this Kirby was not the original reborn! It was nothing more than an early clone... and a bad one at that! If the fact that this Kirby's childhood was too long of 382 years compared to the original isn't the proof of how bad of a clone it is, then Aldeyl don't know what else would be needed to convaince everyone!... exept maybe...

Exept if he kills that so-called Kirby! If he kills him, then it'll become apparent that he was nothing more than a half-backed copy and not a reincarnation!

As Aldeyl stood there, he awaited King Dedede's orders... or more specifically, THE order. The one he was born for...

King Dedede sat back on his throne and then, he stared at Aldeyl for a while... the excitment was too much to bear! He couldn't wait for Dedede to say it!

"Now Escargoon... where was Kirby last sighted?" asked Dedede.

"I believe he was sighted along with MetaKnight in an open field, not too far from here."

Dedede's smiled...

"OK Dream Matter! Go on and beat up Kirby!"

FINALLY! Aldeyl felt so excited... he couldn't wait! The time for glory was now! King Dedede began to explain to him where Kirby was and a few other things... but Aldeyl didn't paid attention. All he cared was that Kirby had been found and now... he would kill him!

Aldeyl stormed out of the castle, his mind focused on the task at hand! Kirby? The pink demon reborn? You wish! Aldeyl will trash that pinky loser, you'll see! By the time the sun will set, the so-called pink wonder's soul will in 02's plate and his body, six feet under!

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Kirby Vs Aldeyl

NOTE: Copyrighted characters belong to their respective owners blablabla. Another chapter for this story featuring our favorite Dream Matter Kirby (yep! The NME finally chose a name for Kirby's specie)! 

This time, we actually get to see the story from Kirby's side!... and the Teen rating is actually justified by this chapter.

* * *

Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, and MetaKnight were in the middle of the field.

To the north: grass. To the south: grass. To the east: grass. To the west: grass.

It really was just an open field... and as such, it was the perfect place to play!

MetaKnight, of course, wasn't taking part in those games. He was sitting beneath the only tree, relaxing.

It had been a month since Kirby had defeated Nightmare and now, Kirby would be able to live a normal life for a good 300 years at least. After all, it takes several generations forNightmare to be reborn and then several more forhim to regroup his troopsand rebuild after each defeat and with their leader recently dead,the NME wasn't going to regroup anytime soon... however, for some reason, MetaKnight seemed troubled...

He stood up, worried... and then, he saw thesource ofhis worries.

A green thing was approaching. Since it was the same color as he grass and seemed small, he couldn't tell what it was... probably not a monster since Nightmare is gone but... well, better safe than sorry.

Tiff stopped playing as she noticed that MetaKnight looked into the horizon, worried.

She approached the Star Warrior and asked him "Why are you all worried out of a sudden? Did you seen a monster?"

"Actually." replied MetaKnight. "I believe this is the case!"

The four had completely stopped by now.

They all turned toward the green thing that was approaching... fast...

"What is..." begun Tuff... but he didn't finished his sentance.

Then, the thing jumped and then what seemed to be a green blur landed just in front of Kirby and his friends!

Everyone gasped in shock exept for Kirby, who smiled and happlily said "Puyo!"

In front of them was a perfect copy of Kirby exept green... the green Kirby was grinning and stood in a triumphant pose. He seemed so arrogant...

"Who are you?" asked Tuff.

The green Kirby anwsered by laughing. Then, he turned to MetaKnight, still grinning.

"So, you're the famous MetaKnight, aren't you?" asked the green Kirby.

"What are you?" asked MetaKnight grabbing the hilt of his sword but not unsheating it... yet.

"Oh! Me?" the green Kirby laughed loudly and then pointed Kirby!

Kirby was confused at greeny's attitude and said "puyo", not understanding why he was acting like that.

"I'm of his kind." said the green puffball.

"Another Star Warrior?" asked MetaKnight, obviously shocked. He tought that all Star Warriors had perished after that battle... but then, he realised how stupid it was to assume that. He was probably only a doppleganger... still, he was similar... too similar...

The green living ball laughed even more loudly this time.

"HAHAHA! Good joke!"

The green puffball took on a triumphant pose, still grinning (was that the only thing he could do, beside laughing?).

"I am Aldeyl, a Dream Matter created by the NME! Unlike your pinky failure next to you, I not only show respect toward my creators but also possess far greater powers!"

MetaKnightwas now sure of it!This green thingis nothing more than amere doppleganger monster!

"Tough luck, doppleganger!" said angrily Tiff, before MetaKnight could say it himself. "But your cheap imitation of Kirby didn't paid off! Now buzz off before Kirby beat you up and send your remains back to Nightmare inside of twelvelittle boxes!"

Aldeyl seemed amused. "Oh! But isn't the little girl touchy today! Is it becease it is your "time of the month" or something? HAHAHA!"

"WHY YOU!" begun Tiff but then, she decided that acting rashly wasn't the brightest idea. This Aldeyl guy was trying to provoke them obviously.

"Your leader is gone. You have no reason to be here." stated MetaKnight, still calm.

Again, Aldeyl seemed amused. "My leader, dead? PAH! Bodies are easily repaired, you know! We, at the NME, can repair a body within 24 hours, even a body complex like the boss's! Very much unlike you, you primitive yesman, who could notrepair a body as simple andeasy to repair as yoursand that, even after all those years!"

MetaKnight wasn't moved by the insult. He wasn't going to let the insults get to him.

"Heh! I bet that your ancestor must look down from the Heavens, stares down at you, and along with all of your deceased friends, he must say: "Man! Even a monkey can wield the holy sword these days! Someone, bring an exterminator and bring this impostor away from my sword! His hands are dirtying it's hilt!""

This time, MetaKnight's face turned a bit red under his mask... but he kept his cool.

"Heh! You know what? My boss told you that when the Dark Knight killed you mother, he struck where it counts... and she screamed like a professional provider of physical pleasures!"

Now, MetaKnight had entirely turned red!

"Whoa! MetaKnight's fulminating!" said Tuff. "By the way, what did he meant by professional provider of..." he couldn't finish his sentance for Tiff kindly stopped him with a quick "Shut up!"

Aldeyl was enjoying this. Not only did he got to kill Kirby but he would also get to humiliate MetaKnight's descendant by forcing him to break his code of honor and forcing him to attack first! All that was needed was one more personnal insult...

"You know what, MetaLoser? Your father was there too!... and when he saw that, he ran away screaming like a school girl before jumping off the nearest cliff! Then, he was eaten by a bunch of rabid waddle dees! You realise? Eaten bya bunch of weak waddl..."

"ENOUGH!" screamed MetaKnight, unsheating Galaxia and pointed it at the green puffball! He was literally shaking with rage!

Aldeyl was disappointed. He was so close... but MetaKnight still didn't attacked. Next time, he'll use better insults...

"Well well, go on! Attack a harmless puffball, MetaBully!" challenged Aldeyl.

MetaKnight pointed Galaxia at the greeny ball, fulminating... and finally, he calmed down and sheated the sword.

"Hmph! Petty monster from the NME! You must really be weak if you're resorting to insults like that!" said MetaKnight.

"WHAT?" yelled Aldeyl, angered by the blue masked living ball! "WHAT DID YOU SAID?"

"Looks like you got beaten at your own game!" stated Tiff, happy to see how it went.

Aldeyl couldn't take it!... but just like MetaKnight did, he calmed down. No need to go after the old man first... his primary target was Kirby!

"Anyway! I sadly have no more time for games. King Dedede asked me to destroy Kirby... and I shall obey!"

Aldeyl grinned and then jumped... toward Tiff! Before MetaKnight could react, Aldeyl shoved Tiff with all of his strenght, knocking her down!

"HEY! What was that for, jerk?" yelled Tuff.

"PUYO! POYO!" yelled angrily the pink puffball!

Kirby couldn't take it! Alike or not, this thing harmed his friend!

As Kirby rushed toward him, Aldeylfeltthe familiar rush of adrenalineas well asan incredibly intense pleasure rising inside of him as finally, the fight of his life begun. Finally, he would see if the rumors were true... if this Kirby was truly as mighty as they said...

Aldeyl ducked as Kirby ran toward him and then, as Kirby stopped in front of him, preparing to inhale, Aldeyl jumped high above Kirby!

MetaKnight, Tiff, and Tuff got away from Kirby and Aldeyl, the first to make sure he would be able to have a proper view of the fight and thus, beable to intervene in case of trouble while the laters got away simply becease they couldn't help Kirby in this fight.

As for Kirby , he was confused as he stopped inhaling and felt he had not swallowed anything but air. Furthermore, Aldeyl hadn't landed yet which means that...

BAAAAASH!

Landing feet first, Aldeyl crashed into Kirby, crushing him into the ground!

Kirby screamed in pain and Tiff and Tuff gasped. MetaKnight got a bit worried... this Aldeyl... he was obviously very experienced...

Aldeyl jumped off the flattened pink puffball.

"Come on! You're better placed than anyone to think inhaling won't work on me!" said the green-tainted enemy.

Kirby inhaled air, gaining back his round shape and then faced his foe, a bit confused at how he could jump that high... but still, he was determined to beat the bad guy!

Kirby rushed toward Aldeyl again!... and again, Aldeyl jumped high above Kirby!

However, this time, Kirby knew what was coming... and sidestepped to the right as Aldeyl came crashing down!

Kirby then tried to punch the bad guy in the face!... but the green puffball grabbed his hand and then pulled him in, grabbing him with both hands!

"Do you like rides Kirby?" asked Aldeyl.

Kirby smiled and happily said "Puyo!", not suspecting what was coming up.

"Then you'll like this one!" continued Aldeyl, grinning.

Aldeyl made a short hop putting Kirby under him and then, Aldeyl somehow slammed his feet repeatedly into Kirby at an incredible speed! Kirby tried to scream in pain but couldn't as the heavy blows were hammered into his back, keeping him from breathing! Then, after beating Kirby for a while,Aldeyl slammed him with both of his feet, throwing Kirby a bit foward.

Kirby tried to say something... but unstead, he coughed and his mouth filled with blood. Then, unable to contain it, he coughed the blood on the ground, unable to control himself.

Tiff and Tuff couldn't believe it!... neither could MetaKnight! Aldeyl was small... but he was obviously far more powerful than what he seemed to be at first! Such speed and power... this small puffball was much stronger than even a dragon! It was obvious Kirby wouldn't win unless he got a Copy ability!... but since there was nothing to Copy around, MetaKnight unsheated Galaxia and rushed to the young Star Warrior's help.

Aldeyl turned to face MetaKnight. The moment he had been waiting for!

MetaKnight raised his sword to strike and...

Aldeyl closed his eyes, opened his mouth wide and inhaled!

MetaKnight was taken totally by surprise! This is impossible... a doppleganger CANNOT use Copy! Then it means that... no... not possible... and yet...

MetaKnight held on Galaxia with all of his strenght. The sword must not fall in enemy's hands!... but this Aldeyl... his inhaling was MUCH stronger than Kirby's... and by that, I meant MUCH stronger!... as such, MetaKnight felt that unlike Kirby, Aldeyl would actually be able to inhale him but that didn't kept him from resisting with all of his strenght!

The sword began to slip out of MetaKnight's hands and he felt that he was being dragged toward certain doom... but then, Kirby, seeing MetaKnight in danger, reacted!

Kirby dashed foward and when Aldeyl had almost inhaled MetaKnight, he received a sharp kick right in his back! Aldeyl spontaneouslyexhaled all the air he had inhaled, causing MetaKnight to be sent flying backward!

Aldeyl turned around to face Kirby just in time to receive a punch in the face!

Aldeyl jumped backward, did a backflip in mid-air (probably for show), and then landed away from Kirby.

"Man! You're one heck of an annoying puffball you know!" said the green puffball.

During this time, MetaKnight tought abouta way of helpingKirby. Since he couldn't rush in the battleand fight for he would be inhaled ashewould have to get Kirby an ability... MetaKnight tought for a while... and then... he got it. Maybe thereIS a way of getting Kirby an ability after all!

"Tiff." said MetaKnight.

Tiff turned to face the masked knight. "What?"

"You still have that ball you used to play?" asked MetaKnight.

"Now isn't really the time to play!" said Tiff, a bit confused as what MetaKnight could use the ball for.

"Balls can catch on fire, right?" continued MetaKnight.

Tiff understood instantly.

"On the count of three..." said Tiff, taking out the ball.

MetaKnight unsheated Galaxia.

"One... two... THREE! KIRBY CATCH!" yelled Tiff as she thrown the ball!

MetaKnight, at the same time, fired a small beam from Galaxia, setting the ball on fire!

Both Kirby and Aldeyl turned toward the incoming burning ball. Time seemed to freeze and then, the two inhaled...

... but Kirby was slightlyfaster.

The burning ball was swallowed by Kirby and in a flash of light, Kirby gained the Fire ability!

"WHOA! No fair!" said Aldeyl, backing off.

"Puyo..." said Kirby, advancing toward Aldeyl with a menacing look.

"Look there." begun Aldeyl who was now very scared by now. "I was only following orders. If you let me go, I'll tell the boss back at the base that you were killed and thus, we'll never bother you and your friends again, deal?"

"Let you go?" begun Tiff. "So you can go and get reinforcements? You wish! Finish him off, Kirby!"

Kirby began to spin around widly and was soon surrounded by fire...

"This is going to hurt..." whispered Aldeyl to himself.

Kirby turned into a fireball and sent himself into Aldeyl!

BAAAAAAM!

Direct hit! Kirby recoiled back to his original position while Aldeyl, him, was sent flying backward, his body on fire!

"AAAAAAAAAARG!" cried Aldeyl.

Aldeyl rolled around and the fire was put out. Aldeyl sighed, relieved. For a second, he tought he was gonna die... and altought he doesn't feel that well, he's still in one piece!

"You dirty little..." begun Aldeyl.

Kirby spat a few fireballs at Aldeyl.

The green puffball knew this was his chance to fight back. He inhaled, swallowing the incoming fireballs and in a flash of light, Aldeyl had the fire ability!

As Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, and MetaKnight saw the fire ability hat appearing on top ofthe green living ball, they all couldn't believe it...

"This is... impossible." said MetaKnight, dropping Galaxia.

"He can use... Copy?" said Tiff, her jaw dropping.

"Man... what kind of monster is that?" asked Tuff, completely creeped out.

"Puyo?" said Kirby, staring at Aldeyl in confusion.

"Indeed, my pink friend!" said the green enemy, smiling. "We are of the same specie!... right down to the ability to do that!"

Aldeyl jumped and then began to spin wildly, preparing a fireball attack of his own.

Kirby just stood there, staring at Aldeyl in disbelief as the others yelled at him to move out of the way... but it was too late.

BAAAAM!

It was Kirby's turn to be sent flying while on fire!

"PUYO PUYO PUYO!" screamed Kirby as he ran in circles, on fire!

"Things are heating up, aren't they? Hahahaha!" laughed the green enemy!

Then after a while...

FWOOOSH!

Kirby tripped and fall on his face. Fortunately for him, the fire was put out.

Kirby stood up and turned toward Aldeyl and tried to assume his battle stance again... but then, he felt incredibly tired...

Kirby had took a lot more damage than Aldeyl and since he was child, his endurance wasn't quite as good as the green living ball's... and as such Kirby had difficulties standing up. He was so tired... he wanted to sleep but he couldn't since the bad guy was there, wanting to harm him and his friends.

MetaKnight's eyes widened. What could he do? Kirby was about to get killed and he needed to intervene... FAST! The ball had already been usedso he couldn't give Kirby an ability again... he couldn't go on and fight himself, he would get inhaled. This foe was also too fast to fire beams at him... what could he do?

For the first time, everyone was out of ideas. Kirby's death seemed imminent...

But then, two familiar voices were heard behind MetaKnight!

"Hey! What's happening?"

"Hey! Kirby's fighting a green copy of himself!"

Sword and Blade... Kirby was saved! By inhaling their swords, Kirby would get the Sword ability and would be able to defeat Aldeyl!

MetaKnight turned to the two knights. "Quickly! One of you! Throw your swords at Kirby!"

"What? Throw our swords?" asked Blade.

"QUICKLY!" urged MetaKnight. It was very rare for MetaKnight to be so panicked... they figured out that this was some kind of crisis.

Both of them thrown their swords... much to MetaKnight's horror! He had told them that he wanted only one of them to throw their swords! If both of them thrown their swords... then Aldeyl would get the Sword ability too!

"CATCH KIRBY!" yelled Tiff.

Kirby turned around to see the two swords. Aldeyl too saw them.

Aldeyl returned to normal as a star came out of his body... and then, both him and Kirby inhaled.

Kirby inhaled Sword's sword, Aldeyl inhaled Blade's sword. Then, in a flash of light, both of them had the Sword ability!

Aldeyl grinned. He wasn't nearly as good with the Sword ability as with the Fire ability... but he was sure he could beat that pink wuss anytime with one hand tied behind his back!

He turned to Kirby... and grinned. Kirby was panting, barely able to lift his sword. Just a few hits and his soul will have an one-way trip to 02's plate! This will be easy...

"Kirby... you are SO dead!" stated Aldeyl, confident in his abilities.

"Pu...yo!" altought he was tired, Kirby was determined not to let this green meanie wins!

Both dashed toward each others.

"HA!" yelled Aldeyl.

"PUYO!" yelled Kirby.

CLANG!

Both swords met. Aldeyl leaned foward, using his superior strenght to push Kirby backward and causing him to lose his balance.

Then, he swung the blade, striking Kirby's sword and almost knocking it out of his hand.

"Piece of cake!" said Aldeyl as he winded up for the finishing hit.

"NOOOO! KIRBY!" screamed Tiff!

MetaKnight's eyes widened even and flashed. Tuff turned away, too scared to look at the scene. Blade and Sword stood there, too scared to move their legs...

SLAAAAAASH!

The finishing hit was dealt.

Aldeyl's eyes widened.

"WHA... WHAT?" he scramed, coughing up blood.

Aldeyl dropped his sword and his hat fell off. Kirby had plunged his sword trought Aldeyl's body. He didn't knew if the wound was fatal.. but all he knew was that he had never, ever felt so much pain...

Aldeyl then realised his mistake. He was only decent with the blade while his opponent, altought young, had been trained by the most competant of all knights next to Dark MetaKnight. This wasn't fair. He was NOT going to die here! He still wanted to do so much for the NME! He didn't wanted to die here, on a sickening fruity world like that, killed by a worthless pink copy of the original Kirby!

Aldeyl stared down at his wound. His fears were confirmed. Directhit to the heart, a fatal strike.A crimson carpet had formed under him... a cozzy carpet for his eternal, bloody rest...

Tears came out of the dying puffball as he cried. His heart contained much sadness... much regrets...

"I... I only wanted... to make... Father proud..." whispered the green puffball, struggling against the emptiness that was growing in his mind... "Nightmare... myfather... I... love... you..."

Having said his last words, Aldeyl closed his eyes and quickly, he felt the cold, eternal darkness... The darkness called to him... and he knew his time had come. He welcomed the darkness into his mind and soon, Aldeyl's heartbeat became slower... then slower... then finally, his heart stopped.

Kirby pulled the sword out of his opponent's body and Aldeyl collapsed, dead.

Kirby espected the body to burst into flames... but it did not. It remained there, the red liquid expending until it touched Kirby's feet. The blood was still warm... and upon looking down at his hands, Kirby was horrified to see that the blood was on his hands also... the blood of his own specie. He had killed one of his kind...

Kirby turned to the others, seeking to be comforted by them... but he barely made a step foward that Kirby coughed up blood and then, collapsed as well, his face falling right into the puddle of crimson liquid.

The others gasped as Kirby collasped and ran to his help.

MetaKnight and Tiff were the first to make it to Kirby.

Tiffstared at the pink puffball, worried... and then, when she tested tosee if he was alive, shesmiled, relieved as she realised that Kirby was still alive. "He collapsed from exhaustion. He's not dead or anything..."

"Maybe..." said MetaKnight. "But he still needs medical assistance. He suffered a lot of damage from this fight and fought to the point of collasping."

Kirby's friends lifted the pink puffball and headed toward Cappytown. However, MetaKnight turned back as they left, staring one last timeat the dead green puffball... he feared that this was only the beginning of their hardships... Already, one of them had almost killed Kirby... how will they be able to continue on if the NME recovered, just as this green puffball claimed, and that they produced an army of these copies of Kirby?

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. The Dark Side's Reaction

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah... 

Yet another chapter from the villains' point of view!

* * *

"Here it is! This is a child's dream that we stolen directly from the Fountain of Dreams and then baked to crispy golden perfection! It's covered with a sweet sauce made of the tears and sadness of twelve mothers whose children were killed in front of them by our finest soldiers. Then, as a special threat, we even placed the disembodied hearts of the small children as a special topping and mixed their blood to the sauce." the servant said, placing a plate containing a baked star covered with an orange sauce and twelve small hearts on the Dark Queen's table.

02 stared down at the dish. It did looked delicious but...

"Tell me, servant... are you SURE that the tastes are compatibles? I mean... the dream's sweetness can only clash with the bitter sorrow of the tears sauce. Also, won't the soft and tender texture of the dream clash with the hard, meaty goodness of the child hearts?" asked the queen.

The servant smiled, confident.

"If you do not like this dish, add my head to it! Dishes made of dreams are very rare and since today is the celebration in memory of the pink demon's death, the chef made a dish he said that there was no way you wouldn't like."

The queen stared at her servant, her usual expression of total boredom printed on her face like a mask.

"Whatever." said the queen in a tone that matched her expression.

02 took her fork and then tasted the dish.

The servant stood there, nervous for a second... why wasn't she reacting? Did they burnt the dream? Did they overdid it with the hearts?

Then, 02 seemed to be thinking. "Hmm..."

The servant's eyes widened. He should have not been this confident... and most of all, he shouldn't have said that if she didn't liked the dish, that she should put his head in the dish.

"The taste is absolutely wonderful." said the queen. "Unstead of clashing, the different textures and tastes actually form a delicate harmony... such a delicate harmony... Tell the chef that I'm very pleased with this dish. One yet more masterpiece from our good old chef!"

The servant felt very relieved and sweared never to show so much confidence ever.

He walked out of the room...

02 ate about half of the dish when suddenly, someone barged into the throne room, interrupting her dinner.

"MY QUEEN! MY QUEEN!" yelled a NZ Dark Trooper, totally panicked.

The NZ Dark Trooper stopped in front of the queen, jumping up and down like a crazy cheewawa... and annoying the queen to no end.

"MY QUEEN! LISTEN! THIS IS TERRIBLE! MY QUEEN MY QUEEN!"

02 punched the table with all of her strenght. The ENTIRE castle shook and it was a miracle her dinner wasn't splattered all over the floor!

The NZ Dark Trooper gulped and instantly calmed down.

"Look..." begun the Queen. "I hate to be interrupted while I eat and furthermore, stop jumping up and down like that stupid Spring Tank monster Nightmare built! You're giving me a headache! Now... speak slowly, so that your words may come out in an intelligible fashion!"

The NZ Dark Trooper calmed down and told the Dark Matter Queen all that had happened.

"My Queen! Following your instructions, we sold a Dream Matter to Dedede so that he may elminate the Kirby reincarnation! Nightmare put Agent Aldeyl on the job and... at roughly 3:04 PM, intergalactic time, our systems recorded a slowdown in his heartbeat rate... and then, a few minutes later, various critical life-support systems and organs failed leading to global neuronnal system failure and cardiac arrest..."

The queen sighed.

"In short, he's dead." resumed the queen.

The NZ Trooper looked a bit... nervous. He hoped the queen wouldn't force him to admit that yes, the Dream Matter had been destroyed by Kirby.

"Err... yes... he is."

This announcement had the effect of a sharp blow to her mask of boredom. Instantly, 02's face darkened and the NZ Trooper had the sudden impression that she had grown to humongous proportions. She stood tall above the small Dark Trooper, her eyes burning with so much anger that she felt like she could reduce anything to ashes just by staring at it!

"That no-good, incompetant Nightmare!" her voice was still bored-sounding... but behind the apparent boredom, a hint of rage could be heard...

Then, she no longer faked out being bored. She exploded in rage!

"THAT NO-GOOD, STUPID, RETARDED FREAK! Sending one agent... ONE! The foes got Galaxia and he DARES to go easy on them? What do he got unstead of a brain? A vacuum cleaner?" screamed the queen, unable to control her anger.

"We we we..." the NZ Trooper was too scared to even complete the first word of his sentance.

A single tear, made of blood, came out of the queen's red eye and fell down into the plate. Upon impact, the tear had the effects of acid and melted a part of the crispy dream. The sauce, tainted with hatred, turned green and the whole dish's harmony was broken.

The queen noticed this...

"What the..." The queen's eyes widened. "MY PRECIOUS CRISPY DREAM DISH!"

02 jumped off her throne and grabbed the NZ Trooper, raising him above her.

"YOU TRIPLE-MORON! DIDN'T YOU KNEW THAT SUCH A NEW WOULD MAKE ME ANGRY? WASN'T IT TOO HARD FOR YOU TO WAIT FOR ME TO FINISH MY DINNER? NOW, MY SPECIAL DISH I HAD ORDERED IS RUINED!" 02 screamed so loudly that the castle shook, again.

Then, she hurled the poor Dark Matter soldier right into the right wall!

02 began to jump up and down, stomping the floor in an impressive fit of rage and fury!

Then, a dark shadow came from behind the throne... Dark MetaKnight.

He approached the angry queen and put his right hand on the queen's shoulder.

"Calm yourself, my Excellency. Empty your mind of the petty mistakes of your underlings. Even the greatest soldiers make a mishap. Even the greatest genious have a single potion blow up in his face. Even I, sometimes, have my bad days. What is a single casualty in your great plans? Do not get enraged over just one death... it wasn't as if Nightmare's base had blew up again, isn't it?" said the masked villain, hoping to calm the queen down.

His words had the effect he had planned. The queen slowly calmed down, realising how foolish rampaging over a single Dream Matter was.

Yes, Dream Matters were the hardest of all creatures to create... but many were left... more than enough to conquer Popstar! Furthermore, according to training reports, Aldeyl was far from being the strongest or most experienced Dream Matter. It wasn't that big of a deal if Kirby could kill so quickly a single unnexperienced Dream Matter...

The queen turned to Dark MetaKnight and smiled sweetly... which seemed very unlike her.

"You sure know how to calm down a lady..." said the queen. Her voice was surprisingly soft and sweet... it seemed unlike her.

"I prefer the ruler to be calm of the mind and wise. Furthermore, your laughter is a music to my ears... well, not that I have ears but you catch my drift. Do not let a single scratch on the picture upset you. Even masterpieces have flaws..."

The NZ Trooper slowly got out of the wall...

"Errr... my Queen? I'll repair that later, I promise..." with that said, the Dark Trooper ran away, closing the door behind him.

"Well, it's just you and me..." said the Queen.

"You have special instructions?" asked Dark MetaKnight.

"Actually..."

The queen sat down on the floor, took her crown, and placed it beside her. Then, she stared at Dark MetaKnight, her face showing excitement for some reason... as if she waiting for something...

"Mety! Tell me again what you're going to give me for my birthday!" asked the queen, in a voice that was closer to that of a teenager than that of a queen... in fact, the way she was acting... it seemed as if she was another person altogether.

"My queen! I told you again that I do not enjoy being called... OK... you win." Dark MetaKnight sighed. He knew where this was going...

Dark MetaKnight coughed and then, he begun. "With the help of the Dream Matters, I will go to Popstar and get you the Star Rod. Then, using it, I will create a beautiful rainbow above your castle and together, we'll ride it for the entire day! Then, if I can manage to get it, I will use Galaxia to make magical fireworks in the sky... just for you."

The queen smiled. "You're so sweet Mety!"

Under his mask, the dark knight blushed... but then, he reminded himself of his position and fought back the warmth rising into his normally cold heart.

The queen waited for a while and seeing that Dark MetaKnight wasn't speaking, she asked him: "Hey, Mety! I bet you have planned something in case you can't get the rod in time, don't you? Will you tell me what it is?"

Dark MetaKnight laughed a little bit. "Hehehe! Well... I had tought about making a rainbow of Dream Matters over the castle, using Dream Matters of all the colors. Then, I'll make a special show for you! Indeed, my triumph over the last of Kirby's descendants shall be recreated before the being who has the most beautiful eyes in the entire world... you."

The queen clapped her hands. "Yes! Yes! I'm sure this will be fantastic!... and I bet you also planned a lot more things I don't even know about!"

The queen stood up and approached Dark MetaKnight. Her current body was merely a bit higher than Dark MetaKnight's...

"Mety..." the stance 02 took... it was kind of... weird... "Your eyes are beautiful too... but they truly look as magnificient as stars without that mask of yours..."

The Dark Queen blushed, her cheeks turning to a mix of pink and red, clashing with her incredibly pale skin.

Dark MetaKnight began to panic... he didn't knew what to do... especially since those feelings were now rising within him... but the queen is the queen.

"My... my... my Queen..." Dark MetaKnight tried to say something but... even tought he would have failed on his own, 02 did not let him speak.

"Mety... we're alone... you can call me by my name... 02..."

This was more than enough for the knight.

"Err... look! I really, REALLY have to go!"

Dark MetaKnight ran toward the door and almost knocked it down as he rushed out, trying to run as far away as he could.

The queen turned toward the retreating knight, disappointed. She walked to her crown, placed it back on her head and then sat down back on her throne.

She stared down at her dish, which she hadn't finished. Somehow, something had dissolved the hatred in the dish and it was back to it's original harmony.

The queen sighed. "Well! At least, the dish is back to normal..."

She resumed her dinner.

During this time, Dark MetaKnight was all alone in his room, leaning on the wall.

"You big stupid 'MORON!"

BANG!

Dark MetaKnight slammed his unmasked head on the wall.

"Why? Why did I do that? We were alone... nobody to disturb us... a perfect setting... why? Why? Why?"

BANG!

Dark MetaKnight slammed his head into the wall a second time... and then, he remembered why he ran away.

"She's the Queen... the Dark Matter Queen... I'm nothing more than a copy of a being who lived ten millenias ago... I'm unworthy of her... and as such, it cannot work between us even if our feelings toward each others are the same... and anyway, I do not want her to worry about me too much."

Dark MetaKnight turned around and sat down on his chair, just in front of his desk. His room was rather small and didn't contained much... but he liked it this way. A desk, a chair, a drawer container his clothes and equipment, a single bed, and a mirror... all he would ever need. The desk was rather larger, especially to Dark MetaKnight but he hadn't placed a computer on it. He was maybe a bit old-fashioned but he preffered his room to be somewhat of a secluded place where he could be alone, undisturbed. As such, no computers. The chair was far from being the most comfortable ever... but comfort wasn't his priority.

In all of the furniture, the bed stood out compared to the others. Maybe becease it was very, very large compared to all the other things... Dark MetaKnight remembered a soldier asking him why he had such a large bed. He had told him that it was becease he stretched his wings at night, while he slept... but Dark MetaKnight knew very well it was a lie. Dark MetaKnight was ashamed that the queen knew very, very well why he had placed such a large bed in his bedroom... yes... she knows very well... but why is he thinking about this? He must NOT! He really did took such a big bed becease of his wings! Yes... he did... or so he tried to convaince himself...

Dark MetaKnight turned to the only furniture which reflected his rank. It was a crystal-clear mirror. The reflective surface was made of a rare type of mineral while the non-reflectives parts were made of gold and silver. Dark MetaKnight stared at his reflection... he was identical to a dark-blue Dream Matter in appearance right down to the cute eyes, chubby arms, and large feet... but Dark MetaKnight knew he was anything but a Dream Matter.

Those bat wings on his back... he was half a Dream Matter and the other half... nothingness. He was the member of a specie that had been destroyed by the Dark Matters millenias ago. He, along with MetaKnight's descendant, were the last of their kind... exept that Dark MetaKnight wasn't a natural member of his specie.

Like the original Kirby, Dark MetaKnight aged within 18 years and then, he stopped aging altogether. As such, altought he was seemingly younger than Dark Reaper, he knew that he was a good 99 centuries older. Only Nightmare and 02 herself were older than him. Nightmare and 02, like him, were blessed... or cursed... with eternal youth and life. The three would forever live until the day, finally, one would end their lives or until they got sick of it all and killed themselves.

Dark Reaper... there had been thousands of Dark Reapers trought the ages... the current one was 40 years old at most. Dark Matters become adults at 20 years and thanks to technology, live to about 7 centuries... Dark Matters with better health can live up to a full millenia. While, knowing this, there should have been about twelve Dark Reapers or something like that... one must remember that most Dark Reapers had relatively short careers for various reasons... and when you think about it, 40 years is old for a Dark Reaper...

Dark MetaKnight closed his eyes, trying to think of something, anything else than the queen... but his mind was obsessed with her.

The war on Light had begun ten thousands years ago becease of a tragedy when 02's husband was killed by the inhabitants of Popstar... but he knew that it was merely the justification 02 had been waiting for. There was much pain, much sorrow, much despair in the mind of the queen... despised all her life for being different, her only joy in life had been her husband and her only son, Gooey... but then, Kirby and his friends took it all away from her. Not only that but they humiliated her on several occasions, killing numberless soldiers and civilians, destroying large sections of Darkstar, giving to the entire world a negative picture of the Dark Matters. The Dark Matters came to be know as the Dark Plague, as the Forces of Darkness...

When he had first been created, Dark MetaKnight had been tempted to join Kirby and his friends... but Kirby and his friends were nothing more than fools. Hailed as a hero, the Dark Matters seen him as what he truly was... a paranoid monster who judged people on their appearance. He showed mercy to no one... and his heart was only filled with the destructive rage of the ignorant.

Seeing this, Dark MetaKnight joined the Forces of Darkness... for unlike the Forces of Light, they actually stood for justice and the general well-being unstead of telling people to despise those that were different. Trought the years, Dark MetaKnight witnessed 02's psychological growth... and his sadness grew.

As her world crumbled, 02 trapped herself in a vicious circle of vengeance and hatred and finally ended up hating all those that stand in the Light for the same reason Kirby hated the beings that stood in the Darkness... and as such, in the end, when Dark MetaKnight watched the final battle between 02 and Kirby, Dark MetaKnight could not tell who was the pink demon and who was the royal savior...

However, with Kirby's death, things began to change... Even tough the vile forces of Evil, the Star Warriors, had assembled... their leader, the pink demon Kirby, was gone. Without their leader, the Star Warriors turned to MetaKnight. He was cunning and skillful both as a warrior and a leader...

The Star Warriors could have very well taken the upper hand if it wasn't from Nightmare... In a daring display of courage and skill, the least competant of the Great Generals proved once and for all that he deserved his rank. Nightmare and a handful of NZ Dark Troopers infiltrated Ripplestar and stole the Crystal Sword. Then, they brought back the holy weapon to Darkstar.

Unfortunately, Kirby had sealed the weapon before his death and as such, the weapon was unusable. Only by bringing it back to Ripplestar would it be unsealed... and it would take millenias to conquer Ripplestar... and for this to happen, the Forces of Darkness would have to gain the upper hand on the forces of the evil Star Warriors.

The NME... it all begun with Nightmare's popularity among the Forces of Darkness. After his raid on Ripplestar, he was seen as the greatest warrior ever to serve 02... and as such, was sometimes hailed even more than the Queen.

Seeing as the Star Warriors, at the time, were on the edge of gaining the upper hand... 02 devised a brillant plan. The Dark Matters would officially surrender and never fight ever again... but from the backgrounds, using an independant organisation, the NME, the Dark Matters would continue the fight.

The tactic was pulled off... and still is used even today. The NME is the greatest idea 02 probably had... Thanks to it, the Forces of Darkness spread everywhere, fooling people much more easily, and being able to send much more specific numnbers of soldiers and agents at specific points.

In fact, thanks to the NME and to 02's official but fake death, Nightmare took the official command of the Forces of Darkness and then, the Star Warriors begun a fight against a non-existant enemy while the Forces of Darkness continued to assault them, slowly destroying them... in the end, time had so completely erased traces of 02's reign that the Star Warriors forgot who was the true enemy and begun to believe that Nightmare truly was the ruler of Darkness... while in truth, he was a mere servant.

...and now, after such a long time, victory is in the grasp of the queen... and yet, she grieves.

02... has lost her friends and her entire family. All those she loved were lost in the war... all that she knew was crushed... All she have left is hatred... and...

"SAY IT!"

Dark MetaKnight turned around and slammed his head into the wall!

"SAY IT!"

His sense of honor was strict and he couldn't bring himself to break it... or is it?

There's no use denying it... he is in love... with the queen and she, too, is in love with him.

As finally, after ten full millenias, he admitted it, Dark MetaKnight sobbed in his room, ashamed of himself.

How could he betray his honor and most of all, his queen? He was the first Great General of Darkness, a servant of the queen. Furthermore, he was breaking his honor and the queen's, as their feelings cause 02 to break her vow of fidelity trought life and death to her husband, Medius.

Medius... the King of Darkness... did he still existed, under the form of a spirit? Was he watching? Would... he get punished for such vile acts at his death?

The Dark Matters were able to control the souls... but altought they did not fear death and knew everything about what happens to souls once they leave the body... the fact is that once souls leave the physical plane, Dark Matters still don't know anything more than any other specie.

Dark MetaKnight stared at the blade of his sword, Black Hole. The blade glowed ominously...

Black Hole had been a gift he had been given by the queen... for what she called "her second, unofficial wedding"... Dark MetaKnight smiled and blushed at the tought... but quickly frowned, reminding him of what wedding the queen would represent.

Even if he was in love with her... and even if nothing would stand in their way... there still was the fact that Dark MetaKnight didn't knew if he would make a good king. 02 was far better in this role than he was... and furthermore, Dark MetaKnight had the spirit of a warrior and he wasn't sure how long he would live without going crazy, sitting on a throne all day for years... He was serving 02 far better as a commander... and anyway, there are also physical problems. 02's hosts always allowed the two to bypass the physical barrier... but what of his love's true form? What of it?

She was an angel... a beautiful one-eyed angel whose grace and beauty is unsurpassed... but sadly, whose size was also unsurpassed. He was a mere speck, a mere insect next to the gigantic queen...

"Bah! Non-sense!" had once said the queen, as he had asked her, when the two were alone. "Most male spiders are about a tenth of the female size... and I will not even mention other insects or animals. Truly, if you think size is such a limitation, you learn glasses, Mety!"

It was true... but he was still afraid...

Dark MetaKnight turned to his mask, on the floor, next to the bed.

This mask... when he put it on, he becomes the cold, serious Dark MetaKnight, Great General of Darkness... but without it, he is nothing more than Mety, an incomplete Dream Matter who is too shy to even admit after ten millenias that he's in love...

In some way, it was the same for 02. During the day, in front of her subjects, she was the Dark Matter Queen, the insensitive, raging tyrant know as 02... but during the night, 02 disappeared and Zero appeared. Zero... this was once the queen's name and very rarely did he pronounced it... just like she never called him Dramety, his actual name. Zero, unlike 02, was a loving, caring mother... a mother whose children had been killed in front of her eyes, whose house was burnt down... and all by a single person; her adoptive son, Kirby, whose heart was filled with ungratitude and prejudices.

When the two stood in the darkness, the only philosophical questions each of them could think of was... how? How did things turned out so wrong? How did hatred grew so much? How could it be that Light and Darkness, which needed each others, could fight each others so fiercely?

Neither of them had anwsers... both hoped that finally, Light would accept it's imminent defeat and that Darkness would rule the world, bringing an era of peace.

But Light struggled... even with the Star Warriors gone, the pink demon was reborn, just to make sure the war would draw out as long as possible... it was as if Fate was against them.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Dark MetaKnight turned around, toward the door, wondering who could be knocking on the door at such a hour.

The dark-blue round creature held his mask in front of his face, not taking the time to really put it on and then, opened the door with his other hand.

Without looking at who it was, he said: "What?"

Then, Dark MetaKnight dropped his mask, surprised at who it was.

The queen stood at the door, blushing. She wasn't wearing her usual robe, as usual... no... what she was wearing was rather... light...

Not wanting to attract attention to the queen, Dark MetaKnight quickly whispered: "My queen! What are you doing? Someone will see you and furthermore, such clothes are not worthy of a qu..."

The queen smiled and interrupted him. "I double-checked all the monitors three times. As I already said, tonight was the night of the original Kirby's death. All the guards and servants left to go to the festivals. We're completely alone with only the machinery remaining..."

Dark MetaKnight had guessed what she had planned to do for the holiday... and as hormones flowed into his veins, the temptation to agree with the queen became stronger and stronger and stronger... in fact, he was resisting so hard that he was shaking.

The queen's smile widened and looking carefully at her, he then realised how stupid resisting in this case was. He was completely bewildered by her and furthermore, it doesn't look like she's going to let him go anywhere... and anyway, what could a single moment with the que... no, the one he loves, will do? There will be no consequences. They'll just stop acting just for a few hours and they'll enjoy it.

As the fairy entered the room, Dramety looked around to the left and to the right, double-checking, just in case...

"In case you're thinking of running away again, know that I locked all the doors beyond here!" called 02. If someone heard her right now, nobody would believe this voice belongs to a queen...

Nope, no one's here... he took a key out of his pocket, closed the door, and locked it... The one he loved was right... he wouldn't run away, not this time.

* * *

The mood wasn't to festivities within the NME base. In fact, a female red Dream Matter stood by the teleportation machine, unable to stop crying.

Other monsters and Dream Matters stood there, heads lowered, silent as death...

Nightmare: "How could this happen? I didn't espected Aldeyl to crush them... but still... that wasn't part of my plan! He was still supposed to live!"

Nightmare looked around. Normally, he'd be happy that sorrow was in the hearts of people... but altought it filled him with power, Nightmare felt no pleasure from the sorrow of his own troops. In fact, it was even the opposite.

This sadness was surging trought him, causing him to overload in a minor way. It was painful... and it revolted him!

"Yamikage! Do something!" ordered Nightmare to his second-in-command.

Yamikage stared at his master...

"Master... I believe that there isn't much to do. The death of a high-ranked agent is always shocking to everyone. When Masher died for the second and final time, months ago, many of our machine monsters had oil leaks in their eyes or overheated. Some of them intentionnaly got stuck into heavy machinery in order to join Masher."

Nightmare held his head. "DON'T REMIND ME OF THAT! Losing Masher to that stupid pink blob and his karate kid friend was bad enough! Do not remind me about how depressed my agents were when they learnt of it!"

Nightmare turned to his troops. Looks like it was how up to him crank up the morale back to normal... It had to be done. No morale, no motivation. No motivation, no fight.

"Come on!" begun Nightmare, taking a triumphant pose. "We are the proud members of the NME!... and so was Dream Matter Aldeyl! He died the way he wanted, serving the cause of the NME to the very end! Will you spit on his legacy and let all his efforts go to waste? What do you think Aldeyl would do if he saw you whine like babies? We are members of the NME! We are the proud warriors of Darkness! In our fight against the evils of Light, casualties happen! Do we stop fighting? Do we surrender to evil becease of that? NO! We fight back harder! We avenge our friends and smithe evil with righteous fury!"

One of the monsters, just a small minor one, stood up. "Master is right! I lost at least 20 of my friends to that pink bastard! We must do our best and get him or else, he'll kill more of us!"

A large, big one advanced toward the small one. "Oh yeah? Do YOU think it will change anything? He's the pink demon, reborn! He is immortal and all-powerful! I say that we stay here! He won't kill us if we don't go to him!"

Another monster, a mother dragon, stood up. "Who do you think you are, smartass? That monster attacked us and destroyed our last home! He will do so again, that Kirby!"

Everyone gasped at the mention of the name... exept Yamikage and Nightmare.

The dragon got angry. "WHY ARE YOU AFRAID? Is that the future we are leaving to our children? A world where we live in fear of a stupid pink piece of bubblegum? You are all wimps! Call him by his name and stop fearing him! If we do not stop Kirby now, he will kill us all and Light will consume the world!"

Several monsters began to stand up and agree.

Then, the red Dream Matter stopped crying. "You are right! If I am to die... then I'd rather die serving the NME than die hiding in a corner of the base!"

Yamikage turned to his master and then, stepped foward.

"Everyone!" begun the ninja. "Did we end the Star Warriors' reign of terror to see the rebirth of the pink demon, Kirby? NO! We did NOT! Let us crush this last enemy and let us finally reclaim the world in the name of all that is good and right! FOR JUSTICE! FOR THE NME!"

Everyone yelled: "FOR THE NME!"

Everyone got back at their post, the weaker monster operating the base, the stronger monsters preparing for battle, Nightmare making plans, the NME Salesman preparing for the next "sale"... and then, as if it was on cue, the NME Salesman was contacted by King Dedede...

The red female Dream Matter smiled. To life or to death... it was not important. She was going toward her fate, toward glory. Kirby would pay for all the lives he ended.

TO BE CONTINUED


	5. Kirby & MetaKnight Vs Duales

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

MetaKnight stood on the roof of King Dedede's castle, gazing at the starry sky... He could not sleep tonight... for he had too many questions and worries. He had decided to stare at the stars in the sky so that he could either forget or sort things out...

It had been a few days since that strange Aldeyl character had attacked them. He had got over the shock of seeing a creature use Copy and unleash such power... he was sure that with enough preparations and a good strategy, it was possible to take on them... what worried him was Kirby himself.

Kirby had not been quite the same since he fought and destroyed Aldeyl. He was constantly sitting there, away from his friends, not doing anything but stare at his hands. His eyes were constantly filled with tears and with confusion... Tiff tried many times to comfort the pink puffball, not to avail.

Kirby had never put much tought into beating up the NME's monsters before now... after all, they always burst into flames and disappeared quickly, as if they had never existed and as such, Kirby never tought he had actually killed anyone. He was merely protecting his friends...

Kirby... had seen friends perish before... but it was the first time he actually seen the death of one of his victims. He had been completely horrified to see how similar the death of his past friends was similar to the green puffball's... in fact, it was exactely the same... exept he was the monster unstead of being a spectator.

Kirby's mind couldn't understand this... Aldeyl was supposed to be nothing more than a monster. Why did he cried? Why did he called to loved ones one last time as he expired? Did he struck down an innocent? What was wrong with all that?

Kirby's mind, unable to understand and even less cope with that, had closed itself... He had turned away from the others, stuck in the moment when he saw Aldeyl's tears and his pain...

MetaKnight too, had been shocked... but for different reasons.

He had never put too much toughts into Kirby's ability to copy powers. It was a power like any other after all... but then, a long lost legend returned to his memory.

From generation to generation, the mask and Galaxia were kept within the family, his bloodline considered as a kind of guardian... but the guardian of what?

The Darkness could take any form... it could copy any power... The true enemy is the one who steals the power, the body, and the soul, leaving nothing behind...

Nightmare? For his entire life, he had been told that Nightmare was the true enemy... and he believed it. Nightmare was a being of pure negative energies and was immortal. He was the creator and master of all the demons...

...and yet, the true enemy is the one that steals the body, soul, and power.

Nightmare can only possess the body and his control over souls is limited. His power over raw power is almost nothing.

If Nightmare was not the true enemy... then who?

The legends spoke of a being simply reffered to as "the Angel". The Angel? Angels... they were a legendary specie rumored to have existed long, long ago... the ancestors of the fairies and of another specie, which spawned the demons. No... this is not right. Nightmare spawned the demons, not the angels' descendants...

Furthermore, on a cosmic scale, the angels disappeared way before the birth of the first demons... which means that a descendant of their specie cannot possibly be the true enemy... and yet...

Unlike Nightmare, an angel could steal the body, soul, and power of a victim.

MetaKnight was all confused... what do the true enemy have to do with the Copy power? What does an Angel, a being of pure Light, has to do with the demons?

In all drawings depicting the old legends, Nightmare was displayed as the overlord of all demons... and yet, the legends spoke of a greater evil, controlling from behind the scenes... using Nightmare as a pupet.

But however, even if this "Angel" truly existed, he or she must have disappeared more than ten millenias ago! After all, how could the NME collapse if Nightmare wasn't truly their leader?...

...but then, a doubt entered his mind...

How could the NME reform so quickly if Nightmare is their leader?... and most of all, how could they make sure powerful monsters right away?

Altought Nightmare's weakness had been found long ago, it was as if a superior force was always helping him... as somehow, he would always find out about the Star Warriors' new weakness and exploit it. Furthermore, the Star Warriors seen entire planets struck with strange phenomenas... and sometimes, they would even suffer them themselves.

He had even seen some of these strange events with his own eyes... Star Warriors whose Light had been completely drained, turning them into atrocious monsters... their blood turning black... their appearance changing... their powers increasing...

This made no sense. Even without any spies, it was as if Nightmare knew their every move...

He, and the other Star Warriors, had always assumed that Nightmare could read toughts using the negative part of people or had really advanced scanning devices... but this theory made no sense.

In fact, none of this made sense and is unimportant!

Kirby is depressed and not ready when Nightmare is about to send even stronger monsters after him!

MetaKnight got up and then, in the starry night, he seen some kind of distorsions... a black ball?... must have been his imagination... after all, he's pretty tired...

* * *

"Come and play with us!" called Tuff. 

...but Kirby didn't moved. He stared at his hands... and remembered the cries of Aldeyl. Then, he remembered the blood on his hands... Was this why MetaKnight trained him? To kill people and not to protect?

However, an explosion interrupted his toughts.

Kirby instantly got up, confused... and then, he saw blacksmokerising from Cappytown... it was on fire!

The pink puffball ran instantly forgot about Aldeyl, the blood, the "kill or protect" deal. All that mattered was thatthe town was onfire and that peoplewere probably in danger...

As the pink ball arrived in the middle of the town, he found himself in the middle of a nightmarish vision... the entire town was on fire and the black smoke made it nearly impossible to see anything. The only place where visibility wasdecent was in the town square which, strangely enough, was more or less spared by the fire...

"So... you're that pink bastard, Kirby..." said a cold, girly voice that was strangely similar to Tiff and yet, was different...

Kirby stepped toward the voice, hidden behind the wall of smoke... "Puyo?"

"Hehehe... I am not Tiff." replied the voice.

Kirby was shocked. Someone understood him?

"Puyo? Puyo?" said quickly Kirby, asking questions in a language nearly no one knew...

"Who am I? Why am I hiding? Hehehe..."

The figure came out of the wall of smoke. The figure was identical to him exept red and with green eyes. For some reason, you could sense that there was something... girly... about this particuliar Dream Matter...

Kirby was intrigued by the strange belt the Dream Matter was wearing. What were those capsules for?

"I am Duales, a servant of King Dedede!" her face... it scared Kirby.Her eyes were filledwith such hatred... and such sorrow...

Kirby stood there, not anwsering, hypnotised by the hatred and sorrow in her eyes... not noticing that MetaKnight was now hiding in the smoke behind him, preparing just in case...

"Puyo pu?" asked Kirby.

"Yes, I am the one who set this town on fire!" replied Duales.

She grinned evilly... she looked like a maniac...

"It hurts, doesn't it?" asked the red puffball. "It hurts when your loved ones get hurts... well, serve you right! You killed the one I loved... and now, you pay for it! I didn't believed you were such a big deal at first... no one did... but now, we know that you truly are as evil as they say! Didn't you ever cared about those you faced? Don't you know mercy? NO! You don't! You're like all the others! Dirty, evil monsters! Well... serves you right! May you all burn in this inferno!"

Before Kirby could do anything, Duales jumped to the side and inhaled a few of the flames, gaining the fire ability. Then, she turned to Kirby.

"Die!" yelled the female puffball as she turned into a fireball and flied toward the pink hero.

Kirby reacted quickly. He jumped high above the incoming fireball and landed close to a few flames.Heinhaled, getting the fire ability from the flames.

"Fighting fire with fire?" asked the red ball. "I'm not going to repeat the mistake Aldeyl did! I won't go easy on you! Behold the TRUE power of copy!"

Suddenly, Duales thrown her ability away under the form of a star. Kirby was about to attack... but when he saw that his foe thrown her ability away, he stopped in his tracks, confused. MetaKnight him, staring from a distance, wasconfused too...

"Behold!" said Duales as she took one of her capsules. She pressed a button and it transformed into a small knife! "I shall use the powers of the noble weapon, the sword..."

She thrown the knife above herand then, inhaled it!... but instantly turned it into a star which she thrown above her! For some reason, the star remained suspended in the air...

Duales took out another capsule. This time, when she pressed a button, it turned into an electrical globe. "...and I shall mix it to the powers of thunder!"

She inhaled the globe and turned it into a star!

"COPY FUSION! BEAM SABER!"

She thrown the star into the first and in a flash of light, the two powers mixed into a single one! When the blinding light was gone, Duales was wearing a hat that was a mix of the Spark hat and the Sword hat. She was carrying a strange double-edged sword with two yellow blades of light with her right hand...

MetaKnight's eyes widened... What was that? How did she do that? This monster's copy powers were obviously VASTLY supeior to Kirby's! How will he be able to defeat such a foe?

"Now! Face the fury of my power!" yelled the red ball!

The red puffball dashed toward Kirby and raised the strange double-edged sword above her... and then, Kirby turned into a fireballas Duales spun around, smacking him several times with the deadly electrical blade!

Fortunately, Kirby had turned into an unmaterial fireball, thus avoiding massive damage... but as soon as Kirby returned to his original form and was about to breath fire at his foe, Duales thrust the electrical blade right into Kirby's stomach!

Kirby's eyes as well as MetaKnight's eyes widened. The first becease of the pain, the second becease of fear.

Kirby was stepped back, graspingthe open wound in hisstomach... only to have Duales slash his face with the double-edged blade, making a nice cut in his cheek and covering the floor with blood! Kirby spun around spontaneously from the pain and stepped back even further... and then, Duales just kept on hitting him.

"DIE!" she screamed as she comboed-up the poor pink puffball.

SLASHLASHLASHLASHLASH!

The small pink puffball was litterally turning red as it was cut from about every angle, losing a small amount of blood from each hit... but each hit added up...

SLAAAAASH!

The last strike was a particuliary strong sword thrust to the side, throwing Kirby to the side. This one caused a much more serious bleeding case than the other hits...

Kirby was covered with cuts and was wound in several places, pretty badly and furthermore, he had lost quite a bit of blood... but fortunately, Kirby wasn't exactely easy to kill despite his small frame. Struggling, he slowly got up, panting and weakened... but still in a good enough shape to fight, which was surprising considering the seriousness of his injuries.

Kirby thrown away his ability, seeing as it was useless against this new enemy... but the problem was that, he didn't knew what to do after that. This foe was just too overwhelming for him to face... but then...

CLANG!

The double-edged electrical blade was sent flying out of Duales's hands and was sent into the fire. Seconds later, it burnt down and Duales, frustrated, thrown her hat away and faced MetaKnight.

"I fear I won't let you harm him any further." said MetaKnight, calmly.

He had understood that this foe was powerful... but overconfident. Duales unleashed was more powerful than Kirby and himself together... but she was forgetting totally about protecting herself and gave the two huge windows of opportunity... and now is the time to take advantage of these.

"HMPH! You little..." begun Duales but soon enough, it was her turn, getting cut.

SLASH!

MetaKnight swung Galaxia with strenght and precision, striking the middle of the red puffball's face and splattering blood over the ground.

Duales's eyes widened as she stared at the red liquid at her feet... she turned to MetaKnight... "How DARE you!"

SLASH!

Another slash across her face! This time, Duales reacted and jumped away.

"Man! This hurts you know!... but you know what? Using Galaxia is CHEATING!... as such, I'll even the odds!" stated the female Dream Matter.

She took one of her capsules and pressed a button. "I shall once again call upon the power of the sword! The capsule turned into another knife which she inhaled.

Again, she thrown the star above her. During this time, MetaKnight and Kirby stared at each others and nodded... and then, MetaKnight thrown a spare sword at Kirby, allowing him to gain the Sword ability.

Duales took a second capsule. "...and I shall mix it to the burning fury of fire!" the capsule catched on fire! She inhaled it and turned the ability into a star!

Kirby and MetaKnight dashed toward the red puffball, sword in hand.

"COPY FUSION! RAGNAROK SWORD!"

She thrown the second star in the air!... the blinding flash of light again! Kirby and MetaKnight, them,jumped rightinto the light!

SLASH! SLASH!

When the light vanished, Duales was grasping a gigantic broadsword with a burning blade, in a triumphant pose...

"Haha... haha... I'm so sure... that you're finished... that I'm shaking... from the anticipation!" said Duales, out of breath.

She lowered her eyes toward her two opponents and pointed the gigantic blade at them...

"You are... finished..." she said.

"Actually..." begun MetaKnight... but he didn't finished his sentance. He didn't needed to.

Duales stopped grinning as she finally noticed what was wrong.Kirby had the sword ability but wasn't carrying a sword and MetaKnight didn't have Galaxia anymore either...

She dropped the Ragnarok Blade. It had grown too heavy for her strenght was leaving her. Then, she stared down at herself. Firmly stuck in her body was Kirby's sword and Galaxia.

Duales used all of her strenght and pulled out the two swords, one by one, in front of her two opponents. She coughed blood a bit... but actually seemed OK. She thrown the blood-covered blades back at the two.

"I will not fall! Aldeyl's death will not be in vain!" yelled the female puffball.

MetaKnight stepped foward. "Why did you fought us? You and Aldeyl... you do not seem like those monsters..."

"Monsters?" said Duales, shocked to be called a monster. "You're the monsters! That's all you Star Warriors ever do! Judging people by their appearance, calling them monsters and then killing them!"

Duales frowned from the pain... "UGH! I can't believe this!"

Duales stepped backward... and then, she stared down at her wounds again... andnoticed a detail she had no noticed before. The wounds... they had missed the heart...

"HA! You missed!" yelled Duales, full of pride.

"Actually, no." stated MetaKnight. "We wish to know how the NME got it's hands on beings like you... for you do not seem to be simple monsters."

Duales's eyes widened in horror. They wanted to capture her... they want to torture us! They want the location of the NME's new base so they can slaughter everyone!

"N... N... NO! I will NOT be captured!" said the female puffball, panicking.

She stepped foward, seeking a way to escape... but her plan to trap Kirby in a fire had backfired. She couldn't see anyplace where there was no fire... she was surrounded, blinded by smoke... unless... yes... after all, thereIS an escape...

Duales, feeling that she was about to collapse soon, slowly walked backward, toward the fire... she had to act fast...

Kirby's and MetaKnight's eyes widened. Neither of them espected this to happen... and yet, it was happening before them...

Kirby dashed toward Duales, screaming: "PUYOYO! PU!"

Duales closed her eyes, a single tear streaming down her blood-covered cheek... "Throwing my life away? I was already dead the dayyou killedAldeyl..." she whispered.

"PUYO! PUYO! PUYO! PU!" screamed Kirby, panicked, not wanting to see her die...

Duales was now actually crying... "Controlled by the NME? Us, being friends? I fear... that this can never happen. I served the NME of my full free will... and... even if you were sincere... whatever you do, those you murdered will never return... Now... Aldeyl... we will see each others soon... very soon..."

...and then, Duales made a final step backward, disappearing into the fire. Kirby stood there...

His young mind was assaulted with questions... Why? Why did she thrown her life away? They were going to release her from the NME's control, she would have became their friend... She shouldn't have died! She shouldn't have!

"Kirby?" asked MetaKnight as he approached the small puffball.

Kirby turned to the knight, his eyes filled with tears. He had failed. He had tried merely to incapacitate the Dream Matter... and unstead, he ended up killing her... He felt as if he had no control over himself... as if he was the puppet of his own powers... a puppet of his fate as a Star Warrior. Kill the NME agents... is it his sole purpose?

MetaKnight seen it in his eyes... it was too obvious. "We couldn't do anything." he said, trying to comfort the pink ball. "Besides, I'm not sure we could have been able to bring her back from the Darkness..."

MetaKnight closed his eyes... and he knew it was true. Only an agent with an extreme level of devotion to Nightmare would possibly do itself in to avoid being captured... and such a being cannot be returned from the Darkness.

But it still didn't mattered... the two were shocked.

MetaKnight was scared, wondering how much stronger the NME monsters can get... He tought Aldeyl was already terrible enough... and now, they run into a copy of Kirby that can mix abilities? How did the NME gain the power to create such monsters? But then, a more serious issue came to him... both of these monsters were almost identical to Kirby in almost everyway... did this meant that Kirby was... no... he is a baby Star Warrior, not a NME monster!... and yet... Aldeyl and Duales were too similar to Kirby for it to be a coecidence... especially that Duales could understand what Kirby was saying... which was shocking. MetaKnight always tought it was nothing but meaningless sounds and that Kirby couldn't really speak... which would be logical since he's a baby... and then, he finds out that Kirby is REALLY talking, that his "puyo" actually form a language which he had never heard of...

What were truly Aldeyl and Duales?... and what is truly Kirby?

Kirby him, didn't asked himself many questions... but hefelt guilt from killing when he had seeked to simply incapacitate. MetaKnight had always told him that being a Star Warrior was protecting his friends... but when he thinks about it... is it really about protecting people? Those monsters... they were summoned by that big meanie Dedede becease of him... He was a magnet for trouble... and the only way he could solve them was trought destruction... for this was what he always did. It was always the same... Dedede sends a monster, people gets hurts, he kills the monster, sometimes with help, and then, it restarts... over and over and over... Was this what his life would always be about? Was this being a Star Warrior? Killing more stuff and wacthing people get hurt?

Kirby felt dirty... if those monsters he just killed had feelings... what of the others? It truly looked like Duales was saying the truth... he had hurt people... a lot of people... in fact, that's the only thing he did... Watching his friends get hurts and then hurts the friends of other people...

The toughts of the two were interrupted when the sounds of a sirencould heard... the fire fighters had arrived. The two left the town... Kirby, him, returned to where his friends were so that he would be able to forget about all that confusing, painful toughts about guilt and al... MetaKnight, him, reutnred to the castle to spy on King Dedede and see if he would buy more of those insanely powerful monsters from the NME...

As for the whole fire incident... well, the next day, after the fire had been put out,it was found out that very few buildings had actually burnt. The fire had been started when almost everyone was in their houses and only a few houses at the edge of the village and in the center had actually been set on fire. It had all beena trap to fool Kirby into thinking the town was on fire...

As for the remains of the Dream Matter, Duales... they didn't found anything. Duales had completely burnt in the inferno and nothing was left of her... her ashes couldn't be recognised alongside the other ashes...

TO BE CONTINUED


	6. Kirby is a Big Jerk

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

King Dedede stared at the monitor, rather angry!

"I was ripped off! You told me that this new Dream Matter would be stronger... and Kirby whipped her even more easily! Worse, it set the town on fire! Do you know how much the repairs cost me?"

In the NME base, the NME Salesman was doing his best to calm down the raging puppe... I mean, customer.

Nightmare stared at the scene from the shadows... maybe sending out Duales was a bad idea after all. According to what Dedede was telling the Salesman... everything had went out as he had predicted... well, in a negative way. Duales got overconfident on top of letting her sorrow and rage lead her unstead of using her sorrow and rage. She was controlled by her own feelings and thus, lost. Nightmare began to get REALLY annoyed. The Dream Matters were supposed to be FAR superior to regular monsters... and Kirby still crush them as easily as ever? What's wrong with this Kirby guy?... or is he the one to blame? Did he suddenly lost, all of a sudden, after ten millenias, all of his competance? No... he had a few problems with the Star Warriors in the past... but never that much! This Kirby needed a more serious treatment...

Nightmare pressed a button on his remote and the NME Salesman felt a small electrical shock. It was the signal that shown that Nightmare wanted him to interrupt the communication and speak with him.

"Sorry, customer, but the manager wants to speak with me! Please wait a minute!" said the Salesman, before ending the transmission.

Nightmare came out of the shadows...

"We will change our plans." announced the caped villain. "I will not stand there and watch this pink puffball humiliate us any longer. I do not care how you do it... trought a give away, claiming he won a contest, or giving him a huge discount... Just find the way to allow us to launch a full-scale attack on Popstar! We shall end this... NOW!"

The NME Salesman stared at his master... A full-scale assault?

Yamikage came out of the shadows as well. "Master... Are you sure about this? If this attack fails... our cover will be gone! We'll lose our only contact with Popstar!"

Nightmare closed his eyes. Yes... if a full-scale invasion was launched, King Dedede would most probably realise that he was controlled from the very start... but still, it was their only hope...

Then, a yellow puffball, quite a bit younger-lookingthan the others, almost as young-looking as Kirby, approached.

"Daddy?" said the Dream Matter child, trying to get the attention of it's adoptive father.

The NME Salesman, Nightmare, and Yamikage turned to the small puffball, confused as what it would want...

"Look... I'm busy. I'll play with you later, OK?" said Nightmare, hoping that it would go away.

"Daddy wants to take care of that Kirby meany, right?" asked the yellow living sphere.

"Master... you are not going to send a child, right?" asked Yamikage, just to make sure his master hadn't lost his mind.

"How am I gonna sell a child to King Dedede if two fully grown adults failed him?" asked the Salesman.

Nightmare smiled. He was amused by the child's courage... but what can a child do against the might of the famous Kirby, that so-called reincarnation of the Pink Demon?

"Look." said Nightmare. "You are still young... it will still take five full days until you are fully grown. When you'll be an adult, you'll be able to take on Kirby... but for now, go back and play in your room, OK?"

The yellow puffball stepped foward.

"Aldeyl and Duales were lazy losers and you know it, daddy. They didn't used their heads and ended up hurt. I may not be an adult yet... but I will trap that meany. I know how toget him."

The NME Salesman walked toward the small puffball saying: "Oh come on! Don't make a scene! Return to your room! Master said he would play with you later!"

Yamikage's eyes widened as he noticed, too late, the strange form in the shadows...

"LOOK OUT!" yelled Yamikage... but it was too late.

The NME Salesman stepped on a panel and a rope tied itself to his left foot and soon enough, the NME Salesman found himself hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"HELP!" he yelled.

The yellow ball giggled. "See? Told you. Even uncle Yamikage didn't seen it in time... and he's a ninja!"

Nightmare smiled... maybe the little puffball was right. He was looking at the problem from the wrong angle. He had tried to overpower Kirby... but maybe strenght wasn't the key? He would send this new puffball and this one would trap Kirby into a situation where he would have the choice between death... and death.

"OK! I'm convainced." announced the masked villain. "You shall be the next one to be sold!"

The yellow puffball jumped around, happy, while the NME Salesman cried for help.

Yamikage thrown a small ninja dagger at the rope, cutting it and sending the Salesman slamming into the ground. The Salesman slowly got up...

"Thank you, Great Yamikage... but I would have still likedmy landingto be a littleless... brutal... well, I guess it's not my place to question the kind of help I get."

The NME Salesman placed himself in front of the closest mirror and made sure he looked as good as possible...

"OK! I'm still not confident in that child's ability to do it... but if both my Master and his second-in-command trust the child... then I'll send the child!"

Nightmare and Yamikage stood into the shadows, away from the cameras as the yellow puffball placed itself on the teleportation device. The transmission between the NME Salesman and King Dedede resumed.

"Ha! Finally!" said Dedede, who was growing sick of waiting.

"Dear customer!" began the Salesman. "We have the pleasure of announcing you that since you were not satisfied with our last Dream Matter... we decided to send you a new one, completely free!"

King Dedede raised an eyebrow. This sounds fishy to him...

"Free? Are you sure that you're not ripping me off again?" asked the king, not believing they would give away a worthy monster like that...

"Oh!" said the Salesman. "Do not worry! The last Dream Matter we sent you was a bit deffective... and after all, it is in the contract that if you're not satisfied, you can either get a new monster for free or get a refund!"

King Dedede smiled. If it was a part of the contract's guarantee, then there was no need to worry.

"Alright! Sell me your monster then!" said the king.

"We're sending you a Dream Matter again!... but this time, we're sending you a special one!" said Nightmare. "This one has an extremely high level of intelligence despite it's young age... and as such, this one will be able to force your pink problem into a trap with ease, thus allowing you to take care of it the way you see fit!"

King Dedede tought about it... and tought it was good idea. Trapping Kirby and then taking of him following HIS way? Tempting...

"Alrighty!" announced Dedede. "Send me that monster!"

The transaction was carried out the usual way and when the transmission ended, King Dedede and Escargoon approached the teleportation device and stared at the new Dream Matter.

"I tought the others looked a lot like Kirby..." begun Escargoon. "...but this one looks IDENTICAL to Kirby exept for the yellow taint!"

King Dedede grinned. Already, ideas for a plan popped into his head...

The small yellow puffball bowed before it's two new masters...

"Hi mister! I'm Serty and I'm sure that we'll get along well!"

The yellow puffball jumped at King Dedede and hugged him.

"Well, when they said it was young, it was true! It acts like a kid!" stated Escargoon, sure that his boss had been ripped off.

"Hey! Calm down here!" said quickly Dedede, not liking seeing his new servant treat him like some kind of adoptive father or something.

He gently but firmly pushed Serty away from him.

"OK... listen, first, it's master, not mister! Second, you will do as I say, understood?"

The yellow puffball smiled. "Sure thing, mister master!"

Escargoon laughed while Dedede, him, stared at the yellow puffball. He was beginning to think that he was maybe ripped off after all...

Then, the yellow puffball turned to Escargoon. "You must no be very smart if you laugh at a Dream Matter!"

Escargoon stopped laughing. "Why are ALL the Dream Matters jerks toward me? I don't understand what I do that could cause them to dislike me like that..."

"Heh! Not important. What is important is that we need to get rid of Kirby!... and that puffball there, Serty, will help us doing that." said Dedede.

He turned to Serty. "I order you to take the necessary measures and to get rid of Kirby ASAP! Understood?"

The Dream Matter winked. "You got it, mister master! You won't regret it, I guarantee it!"

Before King Dedede could give further orders, the yellow puffball was gone... "Great! Here comes my super-duper plan..."

Escargoon turned to Dedede. "So... what do you think it is?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" anwsered Dedede, a bit confused by Escargoon's question. "It's a Dream Matter, DUH!"

"That wasn't what I meant..." said Escargoon. "Do you think it's male or female? I'm just confused... it's so fruity and happy and girl-like... and yet, I have the feeling it's male..."

"Whatever!" interrupted Dedede. "As long as it takes care of Kirby, I do not care if it's male, female, or anything else! I buy monsters not to breed them but to get rid of Kirby!"

Escargoon rolled his eyes and left the room, leaving Dedede to his toughts...

* * *

Kirby was sleeping peacefully under a tree when suddenly... 

SMACK!

A cappy kid arrived and slapped him!

"You big jerk! Why did you do that?"

Of course, this caused Kirby to instantly wake up. He stared at the kid, totally confused, while he rubbed his cheek... "Puyo?"

"HMPH!"

The kid left as quickly as it arrived...

"Puyo!" said Kirby, totally confused. Well, that must have been nothing... and thus, he fell asleep again.

BLAAAAM!

However, a punch to the stomach waked him!

Another cappy kid and his sister!

"How dare you do that to my sister?" said the kid.

"Oh and by the way... here's your thank you!" said the cappy kid's sister before slapping Kirby with all of her strenght!

Kirby rolled backward a bit from being slapped and then got up, totally confused. What was wrong with those children? Why were they so angry at him?

Kirby decided to ask Tiff for explanations... but he didn't had to go far. He saw Tiff walking toward him!

"Puyo! Puyo! Puyo!" said Kirby happily, trying to get Tiff's attention!

SLAAAAP!

Kirby spun around as he was smacked by Tiff! He slowly got up and stared at Tiff, crying.

"Don't go crying to me, big jerk!" said harshly Tiff. "You deserve it for doing this to me!"

Kirby felt so sad... and then, he saw MetaKnight approaching, wearing a weird piece of cloth on his face with two holes cut in to allow him to see.

"Puyo? Puyo?" Kirby wasn't really sure if he wanted to get his attention... but well, maybe he knew what was going on?

MetaKnight stopped in front of him... and he knew that he was going to get it as MetaKnight's eyes glowed with rage.

The maskless knight grabbed Kirby by the place where his neck should be (well, it had the effect on him of grabbing someone's neck) and raised him above him.

"I want explanations young Star Warrior... NOW!" he yelled, enraged! "Why did you stole my mask in front of EVERYONE! I tought I was going to die from the humiliation! There is a reason I keep my mask on! I was lucky no one saw my face!"

Kirby began to cry. Why was everyone acting like that? What did he do wrong?

Seeing confusion in the pink puffball's eyes, MetaKnight slowly calmed... and put him down.

"Why are you putting him down?" asked Tiff. "He deserves it, the jerk!"

"Something's wrong..." stated MetaKnight. "There is too much confusion in his eyes. I have the feeling that he wasn't the one that did all those horrible things."

"Heh! I know what I saw and heard!" said Tiff. "The one who did that was round, used Copy powers, spoke in "Puyos", and was pink! In short, Kirby!"

"You forget that we ran into monsters that are almost identical to Kirby recently. Maybe it was some kind of copy..." said MetaKnight.

Kirby smiled sweetly and wipped his tears, relieved that someone trusted him. After all, he hadn't done anything!

"Well..." Tiff stared at Kirby... "I don't know... but I think I'll trust you. Maybe Kirby didn't do it... Kirby had a hard time recently with all those monsters and he was pretty badly traumatised obviously... but I don't think he would go beserk and do all that stuff..."

MetaKnight turned around, still holding Kirby (altought in a different way now). "Tiff... I believe that those people won't believe that however..."

Behind Tiff was Tuff and almost all of the inhabitants of Cappytown!

"HERE HE IS!" yelled Tuff!

"Brother! You aren't going to..." asked Tiff.

"LET'S GET HIM!" yelled all the people.

It was obvious, the population of Cappytown was about to mob Kirby. Carrying Kirby, MetaKnight ran away along with Tiff...

"GET THEM!" yelled the people.

"Tiff! The Warpstar!" said MetaKnight to Tiff.

Tiff understood and then, summoned Kirby's warpstar.

Releasing Kirby, MetaKnight let Kirby leap on the warpstar and then, the two others jumped on it as well and the three flied away from the angry mob as the various people yelled all kinds of nasty words at Kirby.

As the three flied away, Kirby looked to Tiff in confusion... what did he done for him to deserve all this?

* * *

Inside of Dedede's castle, Serty was taking a bath, taking off the pink and red paint off him. He was smiling. He hadn't had this much fun since... well, ever! King Dedede was sooo happy! Serty had basically humiliated every single inhabitant of Cappytown in horrible ways like stealing MetaKnight's mask in front of everyone, putting disguting insects in Chef Kawasaki's dishes when he was serving dinner to some very important visitors, and breaking Mabel's crystal ball just before she was about to tell someone his fortune. 

As such, there was no one lefttooppose Dedede from banishing Kirby from the town and judging from how badly he humliated each individual person... a permanent banishment is in order!

In his throne room, tons of cappies were there, discussing... and they weren't discussing about the weather or something like that! They were all discussing about how Kirby should be punished.

"I say that he should go straight to jail!" stated Chief Bookern.

Altought his job as a policeman was to keep order... in this case, he was much more concentrated on getting revenge on Kirby for stealing his wife's wedding ring and blowing it away, far into the horizon using the Tornado ability!

"To jail? I'm so angry... I would rather COOK him right here! I'm making some spicy Kirby steak tonight!" yelled Chief Kawasaki, his face totally red with rage.

In fact, the usually peaceful population of Cappytown was totally consumed by rage... and all of their hatred flowed toward a single, specific target: Kirby!

King Dedede grinned evilly and then raised his hands, inviting the population to stop speaking.

Strangely enough, everyone stopped talking as they saw their king inviting them to listen to what he has to say...

"As you all seen." begun the king. "Kirby has let us all down. He must have somehow got his head swollen from being called a hero all the time and tought that he could do anything and get away with it!... and now, watch what he done! Now, while Kirby may be our local "hero", crimes must be punished!... and as such, I propose for the highest level of punishment ever given! I propose that Kirby may be banished from Cappytown!... FOREVER!"

Everyone shivered. Since death sentances were banished and since, anyway, Kirby is a kid... eternal banishment was the highest level of punishment that could be given. To be banished from Cappytown and never be allowed to set foot into town ever again... it was a terrible, terrible punishment.

The population began to hesitate... yes, Kirby had did something wrong... very wrong... but was it wrong enough to justify such a punishment?

King Dedede's smiled widened. Just a few more days and Kirby would be out of his line of sight forever...

Back into his room, Serty smiled. He couldn't understand how Aldeyl and Duales fail. Who needs power when you can turn Kirby's friends against him so easily?

Serty closed his eyes and relaxed. Tomorrow would be a very, very fun day... but one thing was sure! For Kirby, it would NOT be a fun day! Not at all!

TO BE CONTINUED


	7. Kirby is a Heroic Jerk however!

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

"Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!"

The yellow puffball stood before the monster, terrorised... around him, everyone was dead... even Nightmare himself was lying on the floor, the dreamscape under his cape severely damaged...

The entire base was on fire... the alarm siren was screaming... but no help was coming.

"HAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!"

The cold, evil laugh echoed... a laugh that sounded so disgustingly cute but was filled with nothing but pure hatred...

Out of the shadows, the monster shown itself. It's blue eyes hid stars of destruction and it was grinning like a total maniac.

Wielding a gigantic staff that ended with a golden star, the hideous Pink Demon stood before his next victim...

The Pink Demon walked toward Nightmare and stopped just in front of him...

"Heh! What a fool! Did you really tought you could escape from me forever? I destroyed your body... now to finish you off!"

The pink spherical atrocity yelled and struck the dreamscape with all of it's strenght, using the Star Rod! Nightmare screamed in pain and exploded, his cape ripped apart, his mask sent flying and landing just in front of Serty's feet... then... the vile creature turned to Serty...

Instantly, tears of sorrow began to stream down the face of the yellow puffball... he couldn't believe it... his father... he was...

"Seeeeerty?" said the abominationin a childish voice... it was all a game to this legendary monster...

The yellow Dream Matter stepped backward, shaking...

Kirby smiled. "You know... insulting a GOD isn't a good idea, you know! I was kinda bothered when you turned my allies against me... well, it doesn't matter anymore since I got my revenge by killing your family!"

Serty looked around, seeing anything that could help him escape... inhaling fire and getting the Fire Ability? It wouldn't last long enough to allow him to get trought the entire fire and to a ship. Tornado? Too slow to wind up... He needed to escape... fast... then, he realised it! The teleportation device! All he needed was an ability to keep the Pink Demon occupied...

Serty turned to face a fallen monster... that's it! The Fighting ability!

Serty inhaled the fallen monster and turned to Kirby, wearing the Fighting ability bandanna.

Kirby laughed. "HAHAHA! What a joke! Do you truly believe you stand a chance! I am Kirby, the God of Destruction, back from the dead! You puny mortal stands no chance agaisnt me!"

Kirby created a rift in space and hid the Star Rod away... and then, he inhaled something Serty could not see and... !

"No..." whispered Serty, his eyes filling with tears as despair filled his heart.

He dropped his bandanna, knowing it would do no good... all he was thinking about was to run... but to where? He walked backward... and then, felt cold metal... A dead end!

Kirby had made it just in front of him, wearing the Crash ability hat.

"Oh! Are you lost?" the evil pink monster grinned. The thirst for blood was visible in his eyes... "Don't worry! You'll join your friends!"

Serty sat down in the corner and began to beg for mercy. "Please! Let me go! I promise I won't bother you ever again! I'll even give you my teddy bear, Benny! Please!"

Serty sobbed... Kirby gently placed his hand on Serty's face and raised him, so that he would see his face...

"I would but there is a problem..." Kirby said, his smile widenning. "What good is it for peace to be achieved if no "precious" lives are lost? After all, I'm sure your blood will make pretty colors on the wall once I'll have used Crash!"

Serty screamed. "NOOOOO! PLEASE!"

Kirby laughed... and then, there was a gigantic flash of green light and Serty felt an intense pain as his entire body was ripped apart by an incredible force.

"It's all over..." Serty said to himself. "All over... all over... I'm dead... dead... DEAD!"

But then, Serty awakened, out of breath.

He looked down at himself... he was slightly older now... but he was still a child. Four days until maturity...

Six days he was alive... sixnights he had the same nightmares about the Pink Demon, Kirby. Legend said that the Hero of Darkness, the Angel, had destroyed the Pink Demon thus ending the reign of terror of Light ten millenias ago... and yet, it was obvious that it had been in vain. Kirby, the atrocious monster, had returned... and now, the fate of the Universe is in his hands.

He began to regret coming here... he had tought it would have been likea game... but already, he felt thathe had made a VERY seriousmistake. He was a mere kid... yes, he was smart... but Kirby was an atrocious monster of legends! If even daddy Nightmare can't beat him, then who is he to think he will succeed? This was lost in advance... he would, just like Aldeyl and Duales, face the wrath of the Incarnation of Evil.

Unable to fall asleep again, Serty opened the window. Flying had always helpedhim forget his nightmares...

Serty inhaled and then, let his body be filled with air... until he actually became lighter than air. Then, all he had to do is jump trought the window and rythmatically swing his arms and feet, gaining altitude... and then, as he slowly flied over the castle, he noticed the roof was flat... since he was running out of breath, landing would be a good idea.

Furthermore, the stars look beautiful. Maybe staring at the sky will help him forget?

Serty expelled the air and landed quietly on the roof. He advanced toward the edge and sat down, gazing at the sky.

"Can't sleep either?" asked a voice.

Serty turned around, surprised!... and then, he almost screamed in terror!... but couldn't since he was too terrorised for his mouth to move! Those yellow glowing eyes... the descendant of the Cursed Knight of Death! MetaKnight!

Serty did not dared to move, especting the evil knight to unsheat Galaxia and attack... but the attack did not came.

"Can't sleep either." continued the night. "It's just that... I'm worried about a little something that happened when we attacked that second copy of you we fought that day... bah, probably nothing. Forget it."

Serty stood there for a while... and then realised why he hadn't attacked! He was basically identical to the Pink Demon physically, his color being the only change and since they were both children and both males... then, in the darkness, where colors were not noticeable, it would be impossible to guess who was who!

Serty sighed, relieved...

"Anyway... I noticed you were depressed ever since those fights. I know that you feel bad for it but... it wasn't your fault. Duales thrown herself into the fire of her own free will."

Serty raised an eyebrow. He had heard that Duales had been murdered by Kirby... but now, MetaKnight was telling who he tought was Kirby that it was not his fault if Duales had killed herself? What was going on?

"I must say that I wasn't quite myself thsese days either. You know... with those copies attacking. Their power... I barely believe just how strong they are. It was a miracle we could defeat those two... and furthermore... they are so similar to you... it just shocks me. Also... I hadn't tought of it but... what if they could steal Galaxia? So far, we survived thanks to your Copy ability and my skills with Galaxia... but those new enemies... they seem to be able to touch it without harm as we seen with Duales... and as such, I begin to fear for our safety. Furthermore, as you seen, people have started to mistrust you... Maybe we should tell the others and leave after all..."

Serty stared at MetaKnight... was this the real MetaKnight? Was this how Kirby and he truly felt? His father had always told him that Kirby was a heartless monster as well MetaKnight... and their actions showed it... but now, he had his doubts... What if the Star Warriors were REALLY protecting their friends?

...no, what is he thinking? There cannot be two good sides! In a fight, there's always a good guy and a bad guy!... but if MetaKnight is saying the truth about himself and Kirby... then does it means that...

"Bah! Don't worry Kirby... really, I'm sorry to bother you with all. I just wanted to tell someone this and since I didn't wanted to wake Tiff and since you're here... well, that's that. I think I'll go back to sleep now. Good night Kirby... and don't worry about what I said, OK? Just... forget it... I was just... confused..."

MetaKnight walked toward the small door leading back into the castle, not even looking back...

Serty remained there... what to think of this?... most definitely, he'll need more time to think of this. He'll think up of a plan to counteract the effects of the tricks he did on each inhabitant of Cappytown in order to give himself more time to think it out...

Serty inhaled air and then jumped off the roof...

* * *

The next day, King Dedede sat on his throne...

"One... two... three!" counted Dedede! "There! The doors should open and everyone should come as we continue the discussion on Kirby's punishment!"

However, the door remained shut...

"Maybe they're just late?" said Escargoon, making up a theory.

* * *

"HEEEELP!" screamed a cappy, running for his life.

In the middle of the town, a hideous green living fireball was throwing green arrows at everything and everyone, causing havoc!

"HAHAHA! I am Plasma Wisp, a servant of the big, bad, evil Nightmare! I'm big, bad, and evil like my master!" said the monster, in an arrogant tone!

Kirby arrived on the scene.

"Puyo! Puyo!" yelled the small pink puffball.

"Oh no!" said the Plasma Wisp. "The great Kirby! I am doomed!... just kidding! I will destroy you in the name of Evil! HAHAHA!"

Plasma Wisp began to glow in a green light and then, in a giant flash of light, thrown a massive sphere of energy toward Kirby!

Kirby opened his mouth and inhaled!... and then, in another impressive flash of light, Kirby copied the Plasma ability, gaining a green, fiery version of the Spark ability hat!

"PUYO!" yelled Kirby as he thrown a green sphere of energy of his own!

"NOT FAIR!" screamed Plasma Wisp as he was reduced to nothingness using his own power...

Kirby smiled, proud that he could protect everyone again from a big, bad monster!... but then, he stopped smiling as he noticed the people gathering around him... He suspected they would beat him up again...

One of the cappies stood foward. Kirby espected the worst...

"That's our Kirby!" said the cappy.

Another one stood foward. "Way to go Kirby!"

Chief Bookern stepped foward too. "A bit mischevous... but just as heroic as ever!"

Everyone cheered for their hero. Kirby smiled again.

MetaKnight, him, from a distance, watched, relieved. The people of Cappytown were quick to forgive fortunately...

From an even greater distance, Serty watched...

"Farewell Plasma Wisp... or not. You will always be with me..." Serty smiled and then, a few tears streamed down hischeek as he grasped an empty capsule labbeled "Plasma ability". Judging from the logo on the capsule, this capsule had been created by the NME... probably for use by Dream Matters.

Serty turn away and walked away from the scene, satisfied. This little show would give him more time to sort things out...

* * *

"He saved us several times in the past!" said loudly one of the cappies.

"It is thanks to Kirby that the kingdom is still safe from those atrocious monsters!" another one said.

King Dedede frowned.

Escargoon whispered: "It didn't went out quite as well as planned..."

Dedede didn't said anything. Why did such an event ALWAYS happened when he was about to banish Kirby or put him into jail? Why did Fate always smiled to the disgusting spherical being?

Not even listening to the people anymore, King Dedede got up and left, disgusted. Serty had failed him!... well, at least, he's still alive so he'll be able to try again... but THIS time, it shall be HE that decides of the plan, not Serty!

King Dedede smiled, his super-duper plan returning to his mind... most definitely, this WILL work perfectly...

Now to find Serty...

TO BE CONTINUED


	8. The Pink Threat

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

Serty gazed at the sky one last time before making his decision...

72 hours had passed since he first arrived in Dreamland... and he could no longer take it.

Kirby... was not the Pink Demon. He had observed him and... he had seen the true nature of this town's inhabitants.

Painting himself, Serty walked trought the village, getting to know each inhabitant...

Back at the base, he had used to think that the inhabitants of Caapytown were seven feet tall monsters that wielded incredible strenght and eaten monster babies for dinner. Kirby was portrayed as the reincarnation of the God of Destruction, who had his same name, and MetaKnight's latest descendant was shown as the exact copy of his ancestor, complete with Galaxia consuming all with destructive light and with long demon wings sprouting from his back.

This Kirby and this MetaKnight... were not the same.

In two days, he would reach maturity... but Serty no longer was sure if he wanted to live this long. He had accepted to go to protect his friends and family from the evil Kirby... but in the end, this Kirby revealed himself to be exactely the same as his father, Nightmare.

Just like Nightmare, Kirby was not evil, only misunderstood from his opponents.

Serty couldn't understand... there was no evil in this war, no bad guys... and yet, destruction happens daily on both sides.

Each day a monster is sent, each day the survivors grieve for a new fallen one... and for each new day, the inhabitants of Popstar must rebuild their town and burry those that fell during the battles.

Just like he did, Kirby grieved his fallen friends... both young minds failing to understand the necessity of such sacrifices.

Was this why he was born? So that he would die, along with all the others, in a war against of bunch of innocents who were just protecting their loved ones?

There was no point to this war. Neither Light or Darkness deserved this.

However... the fighting wouldn't stop just becease he wanted to.

King Dedede had contacted him... and ordered him to follow his new, clever plan.

King Dedede seemed dumb at times... but in the end, he was just an average king trying his hardest to rise up to the reputation of his legendary ancestor. King Dedede's name was a curse for whatever he did, he would always be inferior to King Dedede the first... and this was mostly why he was so mean. He had gave up and seeing no point in being good, had turned to evil in order to accomplish his dreams.

Since he was unable to gain respect, he decided that people would respect him... becease they feared him... and this was why he summoned monsters. Kirby was a beacon of hope, a light that destroyed King Dedede's dream of being respected throught fear.

Serty refused to destroy this beacon of hope. Doing so would make him, and not Kirby, the reincarnation of the Pink Demon... he would be the one bringing death and despair.

What were his options?

If he returned home, he would most probably be punished... it was even possible that they would judge him a traitor and execute him!

If he remained but turned against Dedede, his future wasn't much better. Dedede would probably send him back for a refund, again resulting into him becoming a traitor and being executed... or Dedede would simply execute him himself.

He also couldn't betray his father and family and join Kirby. Doing so... would be turning away from all those he love and cause Aldeyl's and Duales's death to have been truly in vain.

There was no way around it. Soon... with Dedede's plan in action, either Kirby would die... either he would. Two puffballs would fight... only one would walk out alive.

Serty evaluated his chances of survival... Aldyel was very experienced at fighting with copy powers and Duales was extremely skilled with copy, being able to mix powers... he, on another hand, was a poor warrior and his only noteworthy power was his Duplicate ability, which allowed him to sacrifice a copy power in order to create a monster.

Kirby, on another hand, was a mere kid with no special abilities... but fate was mostly on his side and furthermore, MetaKnight was on his side and he feared the knight for he was a skilled warrior wielding an ancient, powerful weapon.

The combined might of Kirby and MetaKnight would crush him easily...

There was no doubt about it. Today... he would die, without never ever reaching maturity. He slowly die, surrounded by hundreds of beings who despised him, far from his home... far from his loved ones.

Serty sobbed, his heart assaulted by despair... and then, there was the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"What's ya doing?" yelled King Dedede. "Get over here!"

This was the call... it was now, or never... Serty wondered... what lies beyond emptiness? He hoped to find out in a few centuries... but it seems like he'll find out much earlier than planned...

* * *

King Dedede's plan had been a cunning one... altought risky.

Serty, however, knew it would work out perfectly...

Serty would be disguised as Kirby, once again and then... he would go on and meet Tiff and Tuff, who had planned to play with Kirby.

He would play with the young children for a little while and then... he would do a mistake which would cause him to argue with his "friends". The argument would grow in intensity until it reached a venomous level... and then, Serty would take on an ability and attack one or two of the children, causing serious but non-fatal injuries to them.

King Dedede repeated it three times.

"They must be hurt REALLY badly. Something that will horrify the whole town!... but NO death! I repeat it again! DO. NOT. KILL. I only want the people to realise how dangerous Kirby can be! I don't want to lose those two children, understood? They'll probably be good servants once they'll be adults... and I certainly don't want to forever feel guilty becease you killed them! Understood? Injure, do not kill!"

King Dedede continued on. He was so hesitant... that Serty began to wonder if Kind Dedede himself was thinking it was a right idea. Obviously, he was desesperate. None of his plans had ever worked and he seemed to consider Serty in a different way from the other monsters he had met before...

Serty knew that Dedede was just sick. Sick of seeing Kirby being the perpetual glory hog. Sick of never being noticed exept in negative ways. Sick of being unworthy of the legendary name that was his own! He would chase Kirby out of town and finally prove that he's worthy of being named Dedede!

Serty had heard of such cases before... the children of legends that had grown insane in their mad quests to gain respect... and in the end, unable to reach their parents' fame, they became insane...

Serty had not paid much attention to the NME reports about King Dedede at first... he simply tought that the more Dedede tried, the better the monsters he used... but sadly, this was not the case...

King Dedede was growing to hate Kirby more and more... he was seeing him as an obstacle to his hapiness. Every waking moment of the king was now used solely to think up plans to get rid of the pink puffball. Every victory, every time the town was saved... it was a taunt. King Dedede was becoming... insane.

Before, his plans had been to scare the population and show Kirby wasn't such a big deal... but not anymore. He was ready to injure and even cripple his people so that he could banish or kill Kirby! Humiliating him or showing that he wasn't a hero was no longer his priority. He hated Kirby so much now that he had almost ready to kill when the opportunity to get him out of his life presented itself... and Serty feared that things would only get worse...

In fact, everything was seemingly growing worse and worse... the war against the Star Warriors was over but the battles raged on. Encouraged by Kirby's victories, various Demon Hunters had gathered, forming some kind of new Star Warriors movement... and as such, the battles raged on. On many worlds, the rivers were red with the blood of the innocent, the town covered with the bodies of soldiers of both sides...

The same was happening on Popstar, when you look beyond the initial impression that Dreamland was spared from the onslaught...

Many times Cappytown was destroyed, many times there were victims... and the "kill or being killed" case was a weekly, almost daily event... exept that unstead of battlecruisers delivering the warriors who would kill and be killed, they came via teleportation, from Dedede's castle...

"Are you listening to me?" asked Dedede.

Serty looked up to face his "master". Altought he hadn't been listening, he already knew the entire plan. Dedede had repeated at least two hundred times at least by now...

"I understood." said flatly Serty.

The fat penguin noticed that there was something wrong... his monster... he had changed somehow... must be nothing!

"Now, get on it!" ordered the king.

Serty turned around and headed toward his room in order to paint himself pink and red...

* * *

Tiff smiled... it had been a while since she had played with Kirby.

Ever since the battles with Aldeyl and Daules, Kirby had been depressed... but it seemed that the reactions of the people after Kirby stopped Plasma Wisp's attack had been a good cure to his depression and he was as cheerful as ever...

...in fact, he was a little too happy. It was a bit weird... he was just like usual... exept that he seemed even happier, as if it was his first time playing ball...

While they played, Kirby would keep on gazing on the ball, completely hypnotised... and then, when he set his eyes on her or her brother, he would become hypnotised by them unstead.

Still, this wasn't surprising. People act in a strange way when they recover from a depression...

PLAAAAF!

"OW!"

Tuff screamed as the ball passed right next to him and as, by mistake, Kirby kicked him in the face!

Instantly, Kirby stopped upset...

"HEY! What was that for?" Tuff asked. He didn't seemed happy at all!

"I'm sure Kirby did that by mistake..." said Tiff, trying to calm her brother.

"Jerk!" said Tuff to Kirby.

It was now Kirby's turn to be angry. "Puuuuyo!" he said, in an angry tone.

"Huh?" Tuff was confused.

"Hey! Calm down!"

Kirby did a rude gesture toward Tuff!

"Hey! You're mean!" yelled Tuff.

"Kirby! Apologise now!" demanded Tiff.

"PUYO! PUYO!" yelled Kirby, pointed Tuff.

"WHAT? You're implying that I am the one to blame?" Tuff was now shocked!

Kirby nodded.

"Why you!" Tuff was literally enraged!

"STOP IT YOU TWO!" screamed Tiff, trying to get them to stop arguing.

"Stop taking Kirby's side!" Tuff got enraged toward his sister as well!

"PUYOO!"

The three began to yell louder and louder and louder... and then, Tuff picked up a rock and thrown into Kirby's eye!

Tiff and Tuff stopped instantly.

"I'm... I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't meant to..." began to apologise Tuff...

Kirby didn't said anything. He just stood there, his face red with rage... and then, he screamed "PUUUYOOO!" once and kicked Tuff in the stomach using his full strenght!

Tuff was sent flying and was slammed right into the nearest tree!... which was split in two becease of the sheer speed and power at which Tuff had been slammed into the tree!

"TUFF!" yelled Tiff as she ran toward her brother.

Kirby looked down and frowned, sad...

"What did I done?" asked himself the disguised Serty...

* * *

MetaKnight felt uneasy. King Dedede had asked him to escort his car while he was taking a tour in the middle of the city.

He suspected that the king didn't wanted him to watch over the car becease that he appreciated MetaKnight's presence...

Then, suddenly, there was a deafening sound, like an explosion, as well as a scream... Tiff's voice!

Tiff came running into town, her eyes covered with tears!

"It's... it's... it's terrible!" she said.

MetaKnight approached the hysterical Tiff.

"What happened?" he asked, trying to calm her down... not to avail.

"Kirby... It's Kirby!" she said quickly.

MetaKnight's eyes widened. Did something happened to Kirby?

"Did something... happened to Kirby?" he asked, worried.

"No!" she replied almost instantly.

MetaKnight sighed, relieved...

"Kirby slammed my brother into a tree!... he's bleeding pretty badly!"

MetaKnight became tense. This was impossible! Kirby would not harm Tuff, never ever!

Soon enough, everyone was on the scene.

Tuff had received a pretty bad hit. His stomach had been opened from the sheer strenght of the hit and he had been slammed into the tree with such power that both the tree and his back had been split in two.

Dedede was disgusted by the sight of this injured child... He felt guilty... His plan had worked well... too well. He was responsible of this terrible injury in a way since it was, to begin with, HIS plan...

* * *

"So... will he recover?" asked Tiff.

Yabui stood there, thinking.

He didn't really knew... he used to be a really good doctor... but in the recent years, he hadn't got many serious injuries. He mostly had toothaches, colds, minor cases like that...

On another hand, the injury Tuff had received was very, very serious. It was a large, open wound with many internal injuries as well.

While Tuff's back had been technically broken, he had been lucky; his spinal cord was not broken and as such, he would not be paralysed.

Still, many bones in his body were broken and a lot of his organs were damaged. Furthermore, he had massive blood losses.

It had been a while since he had treated a real, serious injury... but still, Yabui calmed himself down. He had the qualifications to do this! After all, Tuff's injuries were bad... but if he acts now, his injuries won't be fatal.

"Well..." begun Yabui. "He will survive... but he'll need a chiurgical operation very soon... in fact, right now would be best. I believe that you do not need my diagnostic to understand that he was pretty badly injured... but stay assured, he will not have permanent sequels from this."

"When... will he be on his feet again?" asked Tiff, still worried...

"I'm not sure..." said Yabui. "A full month of recovery will be needed after the operation, at least. Well, that's my prediction..."

Tiff couldn't believe it... Kirby had hit him this bad? Why did Kirby do this? Kirby wasn't the kind that got angered easily... but then, this argument... it had been the worst they ever had.

They had just kept on screaming louder and louder... and even herself, she was willing to hurt her brother and Kirby by the end of the argument.

She couldn't believe that they had been able to let their anger grow to such a level... just becease of an accident.

* * *

"As you have clearly seen, Kirby is a threat to us all!" stated King Dedede, in front of everyone. "He has injured severly an innocent child... and a friend at that! What will happen if he gets angry at say, a stranger? I will tell you what happens! He will lose his temper and give that poor guy the same medecine he gives to the monsters!"

People whispered to each others. Dedede grinned... he had never been this close to his goal before...

Kirby was no longer a hero now... he was now a threat, a monster that was seen on the same level as Nightmare.

Never ever had the people tought that Kirby's powers and strenght could be used against them... and now, they had been proven wrong!

If he wanted, Kirby could harm any of them at any moment and considering his power, no one would be able to protect them!

When King Dedede proposed banishment, nobody opposed him... at all.

...and finally, after so many hard years of work, it was done.

Kirby had been judged. He is now banished from Cappytown... FOREVER!

Now to find him so that he can be kicked out of the town...

MetaKnight stared at the scene, staring at his feet and not believing this... he continued to deny this. Kirby wouldn't dare to go against the very first rule of the Star Warriors... and yet, the evidence was there. But still, he had hope that it wouldn't be the case, he hoped that this was a trick... but everything was against him.

Serty, him, decided to put in action the second part of the plan... altought King Dedede had never actually planned for a second part.

* * *

Kirby awoke. He had slept well!

He got up and looked around, smiling. If he remembered well, he should now be heading to where his friends are to play with them... however, suddenly, he saw Tiff in the horizon!

"PUYO!" yelled happily the puffball, trying to get their attention.

Then, Kirby noticed that King Dedede and MetaKnight were approaching as well... This confused Kirby. He tought King Dedede hated him! Why would he want to play with him?

As King Dedede made it in front of Kirby, he grinned evilly...

"Heh! Here you are, punk!" said Dedede in a taunting tone.

Kirby stared at Dedede then at Tiff. Tiff was crying and MetaKnight seemed sad...

"Puyo?" asked Kirby, confused as why they were sad.

"Kirby..." begun Tiff... but she couldn't continue.

MetaKnight, him, didn't said anything. He turned his back to Kirby and remained silent...

Kirby turned to Dedede again, even more confused.

"You don't understand?" Dedede felt an incredible pleasure out of this... FINALLY, he was about to say it! "Everyone has gathered and we discussed about the little "incident" we had a bit before... and you know what?"

Before Kirby could do anything, King Dedede kicked him, knocking him away!

"YOU'RE BANISHED!" yelled Dedede, who felt that this was the best day of his entire life. "AND NEVER COME BACK! NEVER EVER!"

King Dedede and the others left. Kirby slowly got up and watched as they left... Kirby was confused... banished?

Then, he felt as if someone was touching him... and he turned to face a perfect copy of himself, exept green!

"PUYO!" the pink puffball yelled.

"No, I'm a friend." said Serty.

"Puyo?" Kirby wondered... was this monster trying to confuse him?

"Come with me..." said Serty.

Serty walked toward Kabu Canyon, inviting Kirby to come...

* * *

As the two entered the canyon, Serty stopped in front of a random wall.

"Puyo?" asked Kirby.

"No, we're not going to see Kabu." anwsered the green puffball.

Serty took a capsule... a strange, blue one... and then, he inserted it into the wall. A small opening appeared.

"Follow me." said Serty.

Kirby followed Serty into the opening...

FWOOSH!

The opening disappeared behind him, leaving him trapped within!

Kirby was now in the middle of a high-tech room. A teleportation device stood before him...

"Puyo?"

"Where are we? We are in an old NME teleportation room. It was deserted ever since a teleportation device was placed within King Dedede's castle." anwsered Serty.

"Puyo! Puyo?" said Kirby, wondering how could this green puffball know this.

"How do I know this? I work for the NME. I am Serty, a Dream Matter, like you."

Kirby took a fighting stance, especting a fight... but Serty remained calm.

"I'm not here to fight you." stated Serty.

"Puyo?" asked Kirby.

"I'm here to show you... the other side. MetaKnight hid you many things... and now, I'm going to reveal them to you. All the lies he told you... shall be brought down as the truth is revealed. But first..."

Serty approached Kirby and then took out some kind of needle.

"Please don't move." asked Serty.

Kirby wasn't sure if he should trust the green copy... but well, he seems nice enough... so he didn't moved.

The pink living ball felt an incredible pain as Serty injected an unknow substance into his body!

"OOOOW! What was tha..." begun Kirby before stopping, mid-sentance...

Kirby's eyes widened... "I... can speak... normally?"

Serty smiled.

"As a Dream Matter, you speak in the ancient sacred language... and you do not gain the ability to speak normally until a good while. This serum made a slight update to your DNA, allowing you to bypass the language barrier. As such, you can now speak normally." explained the green puffball.

"Kirby... confused..." said Kirby...

"Anyway, we'll be departing like, right now. Follow me... but first..."

Serty turned to Kirby and stared into his eyes.

"Your name is Byrki, OK? This is of vital importance! NOT Kirby! Byrki!"

"Byrki? Is it a game? I like games!" Kirby smiled.

"Well... sorta." anwsered Serty. "Now, step on the teleportation device.

Kirby, believing this was a game of sorts, stepped on the teleportation device.

Serty activated the communications computer... and espected it not to work... but thankfully, the computer was still working.

Instantly, the NME Salesman's picture appeared on the monitor.

"Hello! This is the NM..." the Salesman stopped right there. "SERTY? I'll go call the boss!"

The monitor was shut down... and then, Nightmare's face was displayed on the monitor.

"Huh? WHAT? Serty? Where are you? What are you doing?" asked Nightmare.

"Dream Matter Serty reporting! I found the missing Dream Matter, Byrki! He's right there!" said Serty, pointing to Kirby.

Nightmare noticed Kirby. Kirby stared at Nightmare's picture, believing this was not the real Nightmare. After all, Nightmare's gone so this is just a disguised guy. Furthermore, Serty told him it was a game... so this MUST be a disguised guy, right?

Nightmare smiled. "Good job. Now... what about Kirby?"

Serty frowned. "Ran into some... problems. You were right, I'll wait until maturity after all. Requesting mission aborption."

Nightmare sighed. "Well... that was to be espected. Anyway, I'm just glad you lived to actually abort the mission. Very few agents survive their trip to this... cursed... place."

"Now... can I return home with Byrki?" asked Serty.

Nightmare smiled. "Sure! Stand on the teleportation device and you're home!"

The transmission ended.

Serty placed himself next to Kirby and held his hand.

"Please, Kirby... don't do anything reckless. Let me... show you the true face of those you have been fighting for all those years..."

Kirby didn't understood what Serty meant exactely but one thing was sure! That game was getting weird!... and he liked it!

In a flash of light, Serty and Kirby vanished...

Their destination: Nightmare's laboratory, at the edge of the solar system, on orbit above Dark Star...

TO BE CONTINUED


	9. Vision of the Dark Side

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

ZAAAAAAP!

Kirby smiled as he and Serty arrived... waiting for them just in front of the teleportation device was...

"Welcome back!" said Nightmare, grinning.

To his side was Yamikage... who was staring at Kirby with a suspicious look...

"I'm back home in one piece as you can see!" said Serty, smiling. "And I brought back home Byrki as well! He was kind of scared out there... you see... so don't mind him."

Serty placed his hand on Kirby's shoulder... or anyway, where the pink puffball's shoulder should be.

Yamikage approached Kirby and inspected him... Kirby's smile widened. Those guys' digsuises were realistic, that's for sure! Those two persons really looked like the real Nightmare and the real Yamikage!

"Hmm... This seems to be the real Byrki... or maybe not..." said Yamikage, not trusting this pink ball one second.

"Bah!" said Nightmare. "You're too paranoid, Yamikage! Look at him! The same color tone, the same eyes, the same childish attitude! This is our good old Byrki which got lost two days ago!"

Yamikage stared at Kirby... yes, the master was right but still... for some reason he felt uneasy. He didn't trusted the pink puffball one second and he didn't knew why... Byrki had always been creepy to him becease he was identical to Kirby... but there was something in his aura that made him different of the Pink Demon. That difference... was not there this time... or maybe it was just him who was letting his fear affect his perceptions?

"OK Byrki..." begun Yamikage. "Just don't cause any trouble, OK? Daddy Nightmare and uncle Yamikage have a lot of work to do..."

The two villains left the room and Serty sighed, relieved. He was glad Kirby didn't said anything...

"Nightmare disguise good!" said Kirby, who was still thinking those were not the actual villains...

Serty suddenly turned to Kirby, a serious expression on his face.

"Look, just don't attack or threaten anyone, OK?" he asked. "Just... allow me to show you how things go on this base... but first, allow me to show you your room."

"Fun! Fun!" said Kirby, still as happy as ever.

Serty got off the teleportation device, Kirby following and they begun the trip toward the dormitories.

Along the way, Kirby looked around him, amazed.

Monsters and demons of all sizes, all shapes, all colors were busy at different activities. Some of them were cleaning the place, others trained, others played various games, others were busy giving orders for reasons unknow... the place was perpetually in movement and he liked it!

This place, altought it's structure was similar to the NME base, was much, MUCH better! The walls were painted with dark but still beautiful color schemes and windows allowed Kirby to gaze at the vastness of space. Below, a strange black planet lies... he wondered what it was...

"Black planet?" asked Kirby, pointing at the planet.

"This is Dark Star." anwsered Serty. "This is the homeworld of all demons and monsters, our motherland. If you live long enough... you may someday see the beauty of it's crimson surface, the artificial crystal continents, the beautiful semi-liquid cities... Dark Star is a haven for all the ones with dark blood. It is... our home."

"Dark Star?" repeated Kirby, trying to imagine what Serty had detailed him.

A crimson surface? Does it means that the grass and earth are red there? Crystal continents? The ground is made of shiny, white stuff? Semi-liquid cities? Houses made of jelly? It was hard for him to imagine such a world... but when Serty detailed it... it was with the same passion, the same feelings that himself would detail Popstar, his own home...

"Just forget it, OK?" said Serty. "We're almost there..."

As the two passed throught the halls, the NME Salesman joined them.

"Hey! Happy to see you in one piece!" said the salesman. "I'm happy to see you escaped the wrath of the Pink Demon!"

The salesman turned to Kirby, still smiling. "Hey! Isn't that the little guy you rescued back on Popstar? Byrki, aren't you? You're lucky that Serty found you before Kirby! That pink monster would have probably ripped you apart!"

"Huuuuh?" Kirby seemed confused. Ripping apart himself?

Serty turned to Kirby, panicked.

"Byrki is still a bit traumatised from his trip there, don't remind him of there!" he said quickly, hoping to change the subject...

"Well, if you say so. Anyway, I must pratice for my next sale. Goodbye!" with that said, the salesman left.

Serty relaxed...

"Kirby confused." stated Kirby, confused as why Serty got all worked up.

Serty shivered as Kirby said that... but fortunately, no one was left in the hall when he had said that... thankfully.

Serty turned to the small pinky ball.

"What did I told you? For as long as you'll be in this place, your name is Byrki, not Kirby, OK? It's VITAL!" said Serty, frustrated.

"Byrki? Byrki confused?" said Kirby, even more confused than before.

"YES! That's it!" Serty was relieved to see Kirby finally understood... "Byrki! Byrki!"

Kirby smiled, amused while Serty sighed. Kirby was really a little kid... even he, who hadn't reached maturity yet, had grown much more than Kirby did. He was unable to grasp the gravity of the situation, still thinking it was a game... well, as long as it remains like that, they'll be safe...

Finally, the two made it to the dormitories...

"OK Byrki... I will share my room with you. It's the number A-X-2310."

A-X-2310? Sounds complicated to Kirby! Serty leaded him to the edge of the last hall... and then, Kirby was relieved to see that the room was the last room, in the back of the hall. He wouldn't have to remember that long number...

"Here! This is your new..." Serty couldn't finish his sentance.

"HEY SERTY!" yelled a girly voice.

Serty shrugged and soon enough, two Dream Matter and a NZ Dark Trooper arrived.

The first Dream Matter was purple and was about Serty's age... which meant that they were born the same day. Her green eyes were very beautiful and seemed to glow like stars...

The second Dream Matter was an adult and was the largest Kirby had seen yet. He was about twice his size and was dark-blue, almost black, with dull grey feet. His orange eyes were unnexpressive and he looked mean.

The third creature, the Dark Trooper... was unlike anything he had ever saw. The small being was dull grey, almost black, like the adult Dream Matter and his feet were totally white. On the back of his body, two horns that were just as black as the body. The horns were strangely straight, giving the Dark Trooper a weird look. The Dark Trooper's eyes were black like the night...

"Serty!" repeated the purple Dream Matter, smiling. "You're back! Don't you remember your promise?"

Serty shrugged. "Look, I NEVER promised you anything! You're imagining things!"

"Come on! You said you would marry me!" the purple puffball blushed.

The huge black ball stepped between Serty and the purple puffball.

"Look." he begun. "Wilde, you cannot espect Serty to go by your every desire... and furthermore, you still have to wait 48 hours before thinking about such things! Please be patient."

Wilde seemed upset. "Yeah yeah! It's easy to say for you, Mash! It's not you who has to wait two entire days and all! Furthermore, aren't you supposed to be training? You may be nearly strong enough to take on 705, but your skills with Copy are awful!"

The large Dream Matter, Mash, seemed upset seeing a small child insulting his skills with Copy.

The Dark Trooper stood between the two.

"Wilde1! Mash! This is not the way to act before a young Dream Matter like Byrki! He needs not to be informed of your emotionnal problems!"

Serty turned to Kirby while the three argued and whispered to him: "It will maybe seem weird to you... but Dark Matters used to speak in numbers and as such, it is a tradition to writte their names entirely in numbers. As such... this Dark Trooper there, his name really is 705!"

Kirby stared at the three as they argued... it remainded him of when he was sometimesarguing withhis friendsback on Popstar...

While the three were busy, Serty opened the mechanical door,shoved Kirby inside, and then entered himself before closing the door.

The inside of the room was incredibly bland. A small bed to the left, another to the right. Unlike the beds Kirby had seen in the past, those beds were actually adapted to the body of those of his kind... which meant that the beds were much smaller and had a different texture.

Next to the beds, desks with a computer on each of them so that the two may access the NME information network, organise their schedules, that kind of thing.

"Well... this is where you'll sleep for the next few nights." said Serty as he pointed the right bed. "However, it isn't quite late yet so I guess I should explain to you how everything works... using the computers."

Serty approached his desk, grabbed the chair and then invited Kirby to sit down. Kirby did so, curious as for what Serty wanted to show him...

"Now... I'll activate the monitor." said Serty as he pressed a few keys on the strange object in front of the computer.

Everything grown dark in the room and a gigantic monitor was lowered... and then, a picture of the NME logo was displayed.

"Well, first, I will now reveal the truth. Kirby this is not a game."

Kirby stared at Serty, confused. In his mind, it could only be a game since Nightmare had been destroyed, after all!

"Those people you met... the NME Salesman... the monsters... Yamikage... Nightmare... they were all real. You are inside of the NME base."

"Impossible! Nightmare gone!" quickly replied Kirby! "Beat up with Star Rod!"

"Listen..." begun Serty. "Nightmare is not a being that you can beat up. You can destroy his body... but his soul will never be truly gone. In short, we built a new body for Nightmare."

Kirby's eyes widened. This was the REAL Nightmare?... but how is it possible?

"Cannot be Nightmare. Did not attack. No evil laugh." stated Kirby.

"Kirby..." said quietly Serty before continuing with his explanation. "Nightmare... is not truly evil. None of us are. Did you seen what happened, back then, back at Popstar when you was banished? You were misunderstood back there, you didn't deserve such a fate."

Tears came to Kirby's eyes as he remembered the face Tuff had when he was banished... and also how the people had treated him when he had been falsely suspected of humiliating the inhabitants one by one.

"Yes... Kirby is misunderstood..." he said, his heart filled with sadness.

"They were ready to banish you for this, right?" asked Serty, already knowing the anwser.

"Yes... banished Kirby. Chased him. No friend anymore." said Kirby, his sadness growing. It was only now that he realised it... his friends... were gone. He was banished and alone...

"Well... it is the same for us, the NME." said Serty.

This announcement caused Kirby's eyes to widden and his jaw nearly dropped.

"Same for NME?" asked Kirby, not believing this.

"Yes, Kirby... same for NME."

"But... monsters hurt people!" said Kirby, trying to prove false what Serty had said about the NME.

"You hurt people too, Kirby... but you're not evil. You are protecting your friends and avenge those that are gone. We, too, are protecting our friends and avenge those that are lost."

Kirby tried to say something to counter this too... but suddenly, he remembered Aldeyl's cries as he was dying... and Duales, as she said that he was evil for killing the one she loved... It was true, those were NME monsters... and just like him, they only wanted to protect their friends.

Slowly, Kirby admitted defeat. "Serty... right..." the words came out in a slow and convoluted way... almost as if saying those were hurting Kirby.

Kirby felt dirty... for to admit that the NME was equal to the Star Warriors was spitting on the training MetaKnight gave him, betray his ideals... and yet, altought he felt like that, everything proved the opposite. Such a dilemna had already confused Serty, who was much more mature mentally... there was no way Kirby would be able to handle it better.

"Kirby... sad... confused..." he slowly said.

Serty placed his hand on Kirby's shoulder. "Do not worry... you did nothing wrong. You just didn't knew..."

Kirby stared at his feet... he didn't knew what to do...

Serty smiled. "Kirby... I do not ask much. Whatever the side you choose... just give the NME a chance, OK? Remain with us for just two days and allow me to show you my friends, the NME's ideals, and our own version of the conflict between the Star Warriors and the NME. I will not ask you to choose a side, to take part in the battles, never ever... not until you choose to do so. You understand me?"

Kirby looked up to Serty. Since he was banished anyway... he didn't had much choice. He would do so. He would learn more about the NME and their version of what happened. As for choosing a side... Kirby didn't quite understood. MetaKnight told him that he was a baby Star Warrior. How can a Star Warrior join the NME? He tought it was impossible.

Serty backed away from Kirby and returned to his desk. Then, he pressed a few more buttons and the picture of various monsters doing a great variety of jobs was displayed.

"Kirby... monsters and demons are not all warriors. As you must have seen it, just like in your hometown, we have people that clean up the place, people that sell food and various items, and many more stuff. We even have our own King Dedede!... in the form of Nightmare!... and his Escargoon is Yamikage!"

Kirby smiled, imagining Nightmare being compared to Dedede and Yamikage to Escargoon. It was true in a way, Nightmare was the big leader and Yamikage was always following behind, trying to convaince the leader and make plans and not always succeeding... as for the other stuff... it was true, he had seen small monsters busy cleaning up the place. He saw a huge Heavy Knight who was selling wares and he saw an oddly colored waddledoo carrying dishes on the way to the room...

Seeing Kirby smile, Serty guessed he understood.

"Just like the Star Warriors, the NME protects people. You see, on everyone world, there are people that are different in various ways... and on many worlds, people despise those people becease they're different. Often, those creatures are called monsters, demons, threats, freaks... the likes. We seek out those creatures and help them. We also punish those who wrong those innocent creatures. It's like what the Star Warriors do! Seeking out people in distress and helping them!"

Kirby tought about it... again, he tried to find differences but apart from the appearances of the good guys and bad guys being exchanged, he saw none.

"This is what the NME does. We are different from the others and we assume it. We make this difference into our strenght and make sure justice reigns!"

All this sounded good... but two problems appeared in his mind. First, if the NME was so good... how could Nightmare, a being of pure negative things, become their leader? Also... how did it fared in pratice? In theory it was all good... in theory, that is.

"Nightmare bad! Why Nightmare boss?" asked the pink living ball.

Serty had been waiting for this question. "Nightmare... is the very incarnation of those we seek to protect. You see, the scary face... the big cape... it's all an illusion. Nightmare is, in truth, disformed dreams."

Kirby raised an eyebrow (well... manner of speaking since he doesn't actually have eyebrows). Disformed dreams?

"You know, the dreams that come out of the Fountain of Dreams? Nightmare is a dream... a handicaped dream."

Kirby's eyes widdened in shock. Nightmare... a dream? A handicaped one at that?

"Nightmare... dream? But Nightmare scary!"

"THIS is his handicap!" stated triumphantly Serty. "A dream is supposed to be pleasant, not scary. Since Nightmare is scary, everyone despised him. Banished from his home, Nightmare noticed that he wasn't the only one in his state. He called to all those that were rejected like him becease of their appearance or characteristics and then, the NME was born!"

This seemed almost unbelievable to him... Nightmare was just a misunderstood dream after all?

"Kirby... understand... but Kirby wonder..."

Serty guessed the question before the small puffball even asked it.

"In pratice, how do it goes, right? Don't worry! That's why you're going to remain there for two days. I'll show you..."

Kirby smiled and nodded. Serty pressed a few buttons and the monitor disappeared and the lights in the room returned to normal. Serty stared at the clock just next to his bed...

To Kirby, it made no sense. There were three circles and six arrows as well as 22 numbers... to him, it really made no sense.

"Well, our conversation lasted a while." stated the yellow puffball. "It's already time to go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day..."

* * *

To Kirby, time seemed to breeze by at an incredible speed. 

So much happened on the NME that he could barely keep track of it... in fact, no, he could not keep track of it.

One second, he was running throught the halls of the NME base along with other Dream Matters. Another second, he tasted the food of the NME... which was incredidle! He had never tasted so... unique!

Everyone was just so nice... it remainded him of how everyone threated him back when he just returned from his battle against Nightmare... speaking of which... Nightmare was strangely nice for an evil mastermind... but there was something weird with Nightmare still. The pink puffball had the weird feeling that Nightmare wasn't showing his true feelings to everyone and that in truth, he was much more depressed and not as proud and all-knowing as he tried to make everyone believe. Still, Nightmare was still nice for a being supposed to be made entirely of negative feelings.

As for Yamikage... Kirby just didn't trust the ninja. He was always standing in the shadows, watching for some reason and being awfully mean to everyone... why was that? Unlike Nightmare, who seemed to become nicer over time, Kirby just tought that Yamikage was just plain awful from the beginning to the end.

Throught the time he spent on the base, he could only remember two among the really quick and confusingsucession of events.

The first was when he went to train with others Dream Matters... Dream Matter... why was they called those of his kind like that? He didn't knew. All that he knew was that they praticed using the Copy ability. Altought Kirby didn't understood most of the complicated theories, he found it weird that only he could use Copy in such a natural way. The others... they struggled to control their powers, having to actually learn to use each power. Kirby, him, knew what to do exactely the second he had copied something. As such, the trainers kept on staring at him in disbelief... and at the end of the training session, he was given a rank "S" rating. He didn't knew what this stood for... but others Dream Matters began to tell him that he was so great, so skilled, and all...

The second event that came back to his memory was much, much more confusing... it was a short, unimportant event... but it was still so clear... Kirby was sure that he saw MetaKnight behind Nightmare at some point... it had just been for half a second or something like that and MetaKnight's colors were weird... but still, it was him. Still, was it truly real? Did he truly see MetaKnight? It had been so sudden... and furthermore, he never saw him again. This event left Kirby confused...

Today is the final night. Kirbywill return home soon. He can't believe that tomorrow, those nice guys will all be his enemies again...

However, neither Kirby, neither Serty had planned for what was going to happen...

King Dedede had contacted the NME Salesman just a while before Serty was about to send Kirby back and as such, the two had to return to the command room by request of Nightmare.

There, they learnt that King Dedede felt bad for banishing Kirby... and decided to simply finish him off once and for all unstead of letting the loneliness and lack offoodget him. As such, he was going to buy another Dream Matter since his last one, Serty, had disappeared mysteriously.

As the Salesman finished speaking with Dedede, the transmission was cut and he turned to his master...

Nightmare stared down at all the Dream Matters, which were standing to the side of the teleportation device.

Kirby turned to Serty, smiling and not understanding what was going on. He had never seen a NME sale from neither Dedede's or Nightmare's side before...

"Alright! Kirby must be pretty depressedfrom his banishment and weakened from starvationbut still... Iespect heavy resistance! As such, I will send a somewhat powerful Dream Matter to finish the job!" announced Nightmare.

He turned to his second-in-command. "The training reports, please!"

Yamikage gave the documents to the caped villain. Nightmare then read all of them... saying stuff like "hmmm..." or "Really?" from times to times... and then, after a while, Nightmare made his decision.

Nightmare pointed at Kirby! "You! Byrki! Your physical combat abilities are still limited... but according to your training results, your Copy abilities are ranked 3rd best in all of the Dream Matters! Heck! I don't even want to see what you'll do when you'll be able to use Mix and Duplicate! As such, you shall be sent to Dreamland to finish off Kirby in the name of the NME!"

Serty's eyes widened in horror. Kirby got totally confused. Yamikage turned to his master...

"Master! Is it truly a good idea? Byrki is still rather young... and I find it strange that his ability with Copy was boosted THAT much in the last training sessions. Maybe it was onlyluckand that he did not really gainthat much power so quickly? In short, I say that's he's not reliable."

Nightmare laughed. "HAHAHA! Why do you hesitate like this? It wouldn't be the first time! Delcius, too, had his Copy powers increase tenfolds at day 8 of her life! Byrki's case isn't that special!... furthermore, with such skills, I doubt Kirby will stand a chance! Trust me!"

Serty stepped foward. "MASTER! Send me unstead! PLEASE!" his tone was a very, very panicked one...

Everyone turned to Serty, wondering why he was panicking like that... it was almost as if he was afraid that they would send Byrki.

"Serty, I made my choice." stated Nightmare. "Don't worry! Byrki will come back in one piece! Now, Byrki, stand on the teleportation device!"

Kirby turned to his friend. Serty made a gesture, inviting him not to obey... then he turned to Nightmare, who made a gesture, inviting him to obey. Kirby got confused...

"What's wrong Byrki? Just stand on the teleportation device! Everything will be alright!" said Mash, who was just next to Kirby.

Kirby finally decided that since at the beginning of hisstayat the base, Serty had told him to obey... he would do so!

Serty's eyes widened even more when Kirby stood on the teleportation device and vanished.

Nightmare floated there for a while... before realising something.

"Hey! I forgot to tell him to obey King Dedede's orders!" realised Nightmare.

"Bah! A minor detail." said Yamikage.

Serty slowly approached the teleportation device...

He wondered who was more in trouble. Him, or Kirby?

* * *

King Dedede's throne room was in the dark... normal since he had insisted that the lights wouldn't be turned on. After all, since it was the night and that everyone was asleep, he didn't want to attract that attention of anyone who would happen to look at the windows of his castle for some ill reason. 

ZAAAAAAAP!

"Ha! Finally!" said triumphantly Dedede, wondering why it had taken such a long time for his new Dream Matter to arrive.

"I'll turn on the lights..." said Escargoon.

"Nope! Don't do that!" said quickly the fat king, stopping Escargoon in his tracks. "No need to be able to see what he or she looks like! Let's just give it it's orders and let's return to sleep!"

"If you say so, my King." said Escargoon, really annoyed. He was especially frustrated that he couldn't make up stuff for the king to use ever since those Dream Matters began to be sold by the NME...

King Dedede approached the teleportation device and placed himself next to the small Dream Matter...

"OK! Listen to me, servant! You will find Kirby wherever he is and take care of him, OK?"

"Errr... yes?" that voice... it was familiar to the king... too familiar... in fact, he felt enraged by this voice for a reason he didn't knew.

"Just do it, OK?" said quickly the king, who felt that the sooner the puffball would get out of the room, the better.

The small puffball ran out of the throne room.

"Weird... I think I heard that voice before..." stated Escargoon.

* * *

Kirby got out of the room, wondering what to do... Serty had told him to obey the orders while he would stay on the base... but now that he was back home, did he still had to? Furthermore, how will everyone react when they learn that a banished person is ba... 

SCHLAAAAAANG!

A metallic sound interrupted Kirby's toughts. A shiny blade was right in front of his face as well as two familiar yellow eyes...

"I saw Dedede summon you, monster! I will not let you harm Kirby!"

Kirby was too surprised to say anything... he just stood there... and then, after what a minute that seemed like a hour to him, Kirbytook a hold of himself.

"Meta... Knight! It's me!"

MetaKnight's eyes seemed to widen for a second... or was it just Kirby's imagination?

"It's me? Me who? You're just one more of those Kirby copies!"

Kirby then realised that MetaKnight couldn't recognise him in the darkness, just like Dedede couldn't! What to do... what to do...

"MetaKnight! It's me! Kirby! Kirby!" said quickly the yellow puffball, panicked.

"I don't think so. Kirby can't speak." stated coldly MetaKnight.

"Now I can thanks to... to... err... ACK!" Kirby grasped the place where his neck should have been. The effects of the toxin that Serty had injected into his bloodstream were fading... and as such, his ability to speak was returning to normal...

"ACK! Iyo... Puyoknight... Puyopu... ACK!"

This time, it was not his imagination! MetaKnight's eyes were widening! He quickly sheated his sword and placed his hand on Kirby's mouth, stopping him from speaking!

Then, he brought Kirby with him to the roof of the castle as quickly as possible...

* * *

The light of the moon revealed to MetaKnight that the pink puffball was right: he was Kirby. MetaKnight stared at Kirby, not sure what to think... 

"Puyo! Puyo!" said Kirby, trying to get MetaKnight to understand him... not to avail.

"Kirby... Tell me... HOW could you come out of the teleportationd device? I saw you! I spied throught the keyhole and saw you appear... and this can only mean one thing! You teleported to here... from the NME base!"

Kirby nodded. It was strange how smart MetaKnight was! He had guessed everything right!

"Kirby... please prove myfears wrong... Do you think thatNightmare is evil?"

The question seemed awfully weird to Kirby. The anwser was obvious! He made a gesture, meaning that the anwser was negative.

MetaKnight stepped backward. Even with his mask, it was obvious that he was disappointed... in fact, MetaKnight felt the entire world come down to crush his heart... He couldn't believe this... Kirby would not... he couldn't...

"Kirby..." there was fear and hesitation in MetaKnight's voice. Kirby was confused (he's confused often, isn't it?). Why was MetaKnight all afraid all of a sudden?

"Kirby... Do you think that those monsters Nightmare send out after us... do you think that they're evil?"

Another silly question with an obvious anwser. He made the gesture again, showing that the anwser was negative.

"Kirby... why? Why... would you do this?"

MetaKnight turned his back to the pink puffball. Sadness and terror filled the Star Warrior's voice...

"What did I do wrong? I tought I could eventually do something about your banishment... BUT THIS? Out of all people... you are so kind-hearted, so innocent... how could you do this?"

MetaKnight turned back to Kirby. His face was no longer filled with distress. Only pure rage was visible in the knight's eyes...

"How could you betray us all? How could you throw away all of our ideals... your ideals?"

Kirby stepped backward, frowning. He really didn't liked how it was turning out...

"Kirby... get away from me..." said the knight, calmly... but only his voice was calm. His whole body was twitching with rage.

Kirby slowly advanced. He wanted to try and calm down MetaKnight... but then, MetaKnight exploded in rage!

"NOW!" screamed the Star Warrior!

Kirby was startled and turned away from the knight, running as fast as he could! Kirby ran and ran and ran... and as he ran, he begun to cry. Why did MetaKnight yell after him? He had NOT betrayed everyone! He had not...

As Kirby arrived in the village, a single cappy noticed him...

"Wha... OH MY... IT'S THE BANISHED ONE, KIRBY! HE'S HERE! EVERYONE! THAT BASTARD... HE'S BACK!"

The screaming cappy woke nearly everyone in the town. Heads popped out of the windows. Everyone looked down atKirby with fear or anger, or both, in their eyes.

Kirby accelerated as his heart begun to ache more and more... and then, a long "Booooooooooou..." could be heard. Some people even thrown stuff at him!

Then, as Kirby got out of town, he continued to run... and run... and run... and run...

Finally, after a long while, Kirby made it back to the place where he had last played with his friends... an open field with a single tree. Somehow, the tree had been splitted in two and the grass... it was tainted red...

Kirby collapsed... but not really becease he's tired but rather becease of his sadness.

He tried to convaince himself that it was all a nightmare... just a scary nightmare... yes, just a nightmare.

Tomorrow, he would awaken and the NME would be evil, he would not be banished, his friends would be back...

Kirby quickly drifted into a state of deep sleep...

TO BE CONTINUED


	10. The NME Strikes Back!

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah... 

By the way, I'm satisfied with most of the chapter... altought I don't know if I "forced" the flow a bit in the middle... but well, you'll see, won't you?

Anyway! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writting it!

I'll try to update as quickly as possible, as always.

NOTE: This chapter is a bit more violent than the others... but well, that's why there's a PG-13 rating, isn't it?

* * *

During the night... a strange dream came from the Fountain of Dreams... it was a small, disformed dream... a black dream that slipped throught the Star Rod's control protection and flowed to the small puffball, filling his mind with forbidden pictures...

He stood in the field next to Cappytown... but the town was... different. Gigantic strange buildings made of crystal stood everywhere and the sky was plunged into a perpetual darkness... and yet, it was so unreal... so beautiful.

Dedede's castle stood tall above the town, it's strange glowing purple walls shining into the darkness like a priceless gem. The moon glowed into the sky peacefully and thousands of beautiful dreams could be seen, flowing from the castle courtyard and flowing toward the world...

He had never seen such a city before...

But then, suddenly, the moon and the stars were covered with a veil of darkness. A great, dark power came to destroy the peace of this city from beyond reality.

A gigantic white shadow, following by a black, a blue, and a grey one, appeared. Thousands of monsters, their hearts pitch-black with evil, fell from the sky and begun to bring destruction and pain to all.

The white shadow chuckled in a voice that made Nightmare sound like an angel... this voice... it was filled with so much anger... so much hatred... if pure Evil had a voice, it was this one, without a doubt.

But then, a blinding pink light appeared and consumed the veil of darkness. The shadows, one by one, dived toward the unknow pink light, trying to destroy it... but the shadows were all driven away, one by one.

The people of the small city came out of their houses, no longer afraid. Even the king, who was strangely similar to King Dedede, came out to fight!

Together, with the pink light guiding them, the people of the crystal city chased the Forces of Darkness from their world... and even took the battle to the skies! People fell from the sky, joining the people in their fight and soon enough, the Forces of Darkness were overwhelmed.

However, the white shadow suddenly screamed and a white, blinding light consumed the people. Great cataclysms struck the city and the Forces of Darkness begun to gain back ground.

Then, the pink light and four friends rose. The four friends were awfully similar to beings Kirby had seen before... The first looked exactely like King Dedede and wielded Stardux, the legendary hammer. The second looked exactely like Metaknight and wielded Galaxia. The third was a human girl, wielding Magicka, the living paintbrush. The last one was a fairy, wielding the Ripple Rod, a weapon strangely similar to the Star Rod.

Each of the four friends' weapons glowed and then, the pink light pointed a huge crystal at the white shadow. The crystal transformed into a transluceant sword with two blades and then fired a gigantic beam at the white shadow, destroying it.

With the white shadow gone, the Forces of Darkness retreated...

Kirby stared at the scene... He wondered... he had the feeling he knew all those people... but why? All this scene... it felt so... familiar...

Then, the pink light appeared before him... and as the light subdued, Kirby saw the being beneath the veil of holy light...

Kirby stared, totally confused... at himself.

His reflection smiled...

"Someday, you will understand..." he said, in a somewhat high-pitched voice that was identical to him exept just a little bit deeper...

Then, everything faded and the pink puffball awakened, the dream finished.

Kirby looked toward the sky... and noticed that it was already daytime. He had slept for a very, very long time...

He didn't knew what to think of this dream... but one thing was sure. He hoped that what he had experienced yesterday was a part of the dream as well!

Kirby jumped and landed on his feet. He looked around, smiling. A new day begun and he would probably play all day long with his friends! This would be very fun!... or maybe he could train with Metaknight or something?... or maybe he would run into that Serty guy again? He was nice.

The wind blew... and Kirby heard a strange sound... kinda like armor? Must be Metaknight!

Kirby turned around to face Metaknight. He had been right! He was there!

"Puyo!" happily said Kirby.

Strange... no anwser.

Kirby noticed that Tuff, Fololo, and Falala were there as well. He happily called to them... but once again, no anwser.

"I don't know..." begun Fololo. "... but he doesn't look that much evil. Are you sure you just had a bad dream?"

"Kirby would never betray us! It's common knowledge! He's our friend!... well, DUH!" said Tuff.

Metaknight kept on staring... and Kirby frowned. Why was Metaknight upset like that?

"Puyo?" he asked, knowing very well that he wouldn't understand but well, it didn't stopped him form asking...

"Well... I'll admit it." said Metaknight, suddenly relaxing. "Maybe it was just a dr..."

Metaknight didn't finished his sentance. He had seen a detail about Kirby... a detail that wasn't there before...

"What the..." Metaknight's eyes widened. He had NOT seen that just now...

Metaknight approached Kirby... "Puyo?" he asked, not that it made any difference.

Metaknight grabbed Kirby and turned him upside down! Then, he proceeded to shake him!

"PUYOYOYO PUPUPU!" screamed Kirby, panicked as he was shaked like a bag of potatoes!

CLUNG!

A single, empty capsule fell down from somewhere.

Metaknight grabbed it and inspected it...

"So... it was not a dream..." he said, grasping the capsule.

Metaknight turned to the others and shown them the capsule. Tuff grabbed it and read what was written on it...

"So... what's written on it?" asked Falala.

"Well..." said Tuff. "Copy Ability item supply item. Manufactured by NME for use by Byrki."

"Byrki?" asked Falala. "Never heard of someone named Byrki! Maybe Kirby stole it from a monster?"

"Look inside." said Metaknight.

Tuff read what was written inside it... and his eyes widened.

"What's wrong? What's written inside?" asked Falala, not understanding why Tuff got all tense so suddenly.

"Re... read it yourself..." said Tuff, giving the capsule to the pink round being.

Falala read it... and her eyes too widened.

"Hey! I want to know what's so special about that capsule! What's written in it?" asked Fololo.

Falala gave the capsule to Fololo. He read what was written inside aloud...

"Special order of Agent Serty Number K-013 for use by Agent DS-211 Kirby." read Fololo.

He looked at Kirby, smiling. "Hey! That's weird! That Agent DS-211 happen to have the same name as you and to have the Copy ability!"

It took a few seconds for Fololo to realise it... "Wait a minute! An agent named Kirby who has the Copy ability? This can only mean that..."

"... that Kirby is a NME agent." finished Metaknight.

Fololo dropped the capsule as everyone exept for Metaknight stared at the pink puffball in disbelief.

"This... this is a joke, right? Tell me it's a joke, Metaknight! Kirby cannot be... one of them, can he?" asked Tuff, refusing to believe this...

They all stared at each others... Kirby, him, didn't knew what to do...

"Kirby... why? We tought that you were our friend!" said Falala, crying.

Kirby looked down, not daring to look at his friends. This capsule was a special gift from Serty. Serty had taken one of the capsules he had been given and wrotte that inside before putting a small star inside the caspule, resealing it, and giving it to him. Kirby had used the capsule to use the Ball ability and it had been one of the most fun abilities he had ever tried. Using this, he had been able to roll around at such speeds and bounce so high!... and he had tought of keeping the capsule as a souvenir of his days with Serty... but he had never tought that the capsule would be used as a proof that he went to the NME base.

Kirby begun to cry, not knowing what to do. Maybe they were right? Maybe he should have never accepted to follow Serty. He had gone to the NME base and accepted the enemies of the Star Warriors as his friends... he had turned his back on them all. He was a traitor!

Metaknight unsheated Galaxia... but hesitated. Altought Kirby was a traitor, he felt that the pink living ball was special to him. He had watched over him for so long... could he truly do this?

Metaknight pointed the holy blade at Kirby. "I never espected you to turn away from us... but what must be done... must be done."

Metaknight raised the sword, winding up for an attack... but... his arm got stuck in that position. He couldn't bring the sword down and strike... he just couldn't. His left eye turned blue... and then, slowly, so did his right one... and after a few seconds, a water drop fell from his mask... a tear.

"I... must... do... this!" he said to himself.

But... his arm refused to move. He cannot strike Kirby... even if he betrayed him, he just can't...

Kirby looked up to Metaknight...

Kirby tried to say something... but suddenly...

There was a strange, grey blur and Galaxia was knocked away from Metaknight!

The responsible for this turned to face the group... and everyone's eyes widened... but Kirby's more than anyone else!

706 was standing there...

BASH!

A purple Dream Matter had seemingly came out of nowhere and punched Metaknight right in the face using the Fighter ability!

It was Wilde!

"I knew it! It was a good idea to follow you!" said another Dream Matter, this one larger than the others...

It was Mash!

706 jumped, placing himself between Metaknight and Kirby!

"Byrki is our friend. We will not allow you, a worthless Star Warrior, to touch our friend!" said the small NZ Dark Trooper. Altought he was small... it had been surprising how quickly and with how much strenght the small thing had knocked Galaxia away!

"Leave Kirby alone!" ordered the knight!

"Kirby? Heh! If he was the Pink Demon, we would know it!" replied Wilde with a harsh tone. "Do he looks like that evil monster, Kirby, to you? NO! He is Byrki, our good friend!"

"OK... now THAT is confusing..." said Tuff. "But I think I finally understood! Maybe that Kirby is some kind of... well... double agent or something?"

Fololo turned to Tuff. "Double agent? You mean, those people that work on both sides at once... but really are the friend of only one side?"

"Yeah! Exactely!" said Tuff. "When he's here, Kirby acts normally and he must also disguise himself as Byrki to take on the NME from the inside!"

"You're so smart, Tuff!" said Falala.

"Really? Err... hey! I said something smart! Like my sister! So cool..." said Tuff, proud of himself.

Mash, 706, and Wilde stared at each others... and then turned to Kirby.

"Really? Well... you're all wrong! Kirby cannot speak and our friend can! How's that to you? Come on Byrki, say something!" said 706.

Kirby frowned. He was in DEEP trouble now. Without the serum, he was stuck with being able to only say "puyo"... and they didn't knew that he was, in truth, Kirby. They would probably think he has hurt that Byrki guy or something if they learnt he was Kirby... he didn't wanted to break the hearts of his friends and that, on both sides... what to do?

Kirby turned to Metaknight, who was staring at him... and then, he turned to 706, who was staring at him too...

So much stress... so much pressure...

Kirby couldn't take it and began to cry!... which caused both sides to be upset!

"Great! See what you done, 706! You made Byrki cry, big meanie!" scolded Wilde, slapping 706 with all of her strenght!

"OW! Not my fault!" said quickly 706.

Metaknight, Tuff, and the others just kept staring...

"Leave Kirby alone!" ordered Metaknight.

"Leave Byrki alone!" ordered Mash.

Metaknight jumped toward his sword and took it in his hands. Then, he jumped toward Mash! Mash prepared to punch...

"PUUUUYOOOO!" screamed Kirby as he jumped between the two!

SLAAAAASH!  
BAAAAAAAM!

Both of their attacks struck Kirby unstead! Everyone froze in their tracks as Kirby was almost cut in two from one side, and almost totally crushed from the other.

Kirby fell down, serious hurt... a torrent of crimson liquid flowed from both injuries...

"OH NO! I'M TOO LATE!"

It was Serty, who had just arrived on the scene...

"YOU MORONS!" he screamed to his friends as he dashed toward Kirby...

Metaknight pointed his sword at Serty. "I will not allow you to..."

"SHUT UP!" screamed the Dream Matter. "I don't care where you loyalty belongs! Kirby is gonna die if he doesn't get treatments!"

Both sides stared at the pink puffball in disbelief... Serty took out a capsule and opened it. Out of it came tomato slices... Maxim Tomato slices... Serty forced Kirby to open his mouth and forced the slices into his throat, hoping that the injuries weren't fatal...

For a second, nothing happened... and then, Kirby's wounds closed... Serty made a few steps backward... he was so embarassed... all of this begun becease of him...

"OK... could someone explain to me what just happened, here?" asked both Tuff and 706, at the same time.

"I'm so sorry everyone... it's all my fault... I... I lied in the report. I lied... I did not fail in my plans... I... succeeded. Kirby... was at my mercy but then... something happened that changed my view on the situation."

The green Dream Matter turned to Metaknight.

"A few days ago... you were on the roof of the castle... don't you?" asked Serty.

"I have nothing to say to a NME agent!" replied harshly Metaknight.

Serty ignored the harsh comment. "That night, I couldn't sleep and flied to the roof. There, I ran into you... and you confused me for Kirby and explained to me your dilemna, thinking you were discussing with Kirby."

Metaknight's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it! He had revealed all of his worries to the enemy!

"Following that night, I realised... that the Star Warriors weren't quite like Father Nightmare had told us. I wanted... to show Kirby that we weren't like everyone said... to show him how we truly were. I injected a serum to give him speech abilities and used his similarities to Agent Byrki to help him infiltrate the base. Then... he lived with us for a while."

The NME agents' jaws dropped... they couldn't believe it...

"You mean that... He wasn't..." Wilde didn't finished her sentance.

"Byrki died shortly after his arrival. I found his body in an abandonned Teleportation Room. The one you all tought was Byrki... is in truth, Kirby, the Pink Demon reborn."

Mash, 706, and Wilde stood there... and finally realised that for all this time, they had befriended and played with the enemy as if he was one of them...

Metaknight turned to Kirby... "So he really did betray us..." begun the knight... but Serty interrupted him!

"No! No! Kirby did not. I told Kirby that I wanted him to choose his side from his own free will and this is why I brought him to the base. Kirby had not chosen a side by the way he got back here... he couldn't bring himself to betray the ones he respected the most. Kirby... has great respect for you, Metaknight."

Metaknight turned to Serty... "So... he did not betray us in truth... but still, I don't have any reasons to trust you. You are agents of the evil emperor, Nightmare."

Wilde stepped foward, offended. "EVIL EMPEROR? Who was murdering thousands of innocents and bringing terror to the galaxy for all those centuries? It was the Star Warriors! You are all spawns of the Pink Demon! No-good monsters that care for..."

Serty interrupted Wilde. "STOP! Do you think blaming Metaknight will do any good? He was, just like Kirby, protecting his friends... just like we were."

Mash closed his eyes... "I still believe that the Star Warriors are evil, however. If their movement is allowed to be revived... they could consume the entire world!"

"Consuming the world? Actually, I think that the NME has a strange way of protecting people... with all of their whole world enslaving and destroying business." said Metaknight.

Kirby slowly got up and noticed that he was still alive. Not only that but he noticed his friends, arguing...

"The NME never did anything! It was the Star Wa..." yelled 706!

"The NME's crimes cannot be forgiven! EVER!" yelled back Metaknight!

"PUUUUYOOOO!" screamed Kirby, causing both sides to stop.

Kirby advanced toward Metaknight... and kicked him! The NME agents cheered!

Then, Kirby approached Mash... and kicked him too! Metaknight, Tuff, Fololo, and Falala cheered!

Kirby stood in the middle, upset at both groups.

"Kirby..." begun Metaknight.

Kirby did not listen. He had enough, ENOUGH! He had no intention of allowing them to hurt each others any longer...

Suddenly, there was a strange sound... and all the NME agents exept for Serty ran away!

"Sorry! Gotta go!" yelled Mash.

"What the..." Serty couldn't say anything as they sped off, away from them...

Serty turned to Kirby. "Anyway... I'm just happy to see that you're in a good shape."

"Kirby..." begun Metaknight. "You cannot keep the NME and those who walk on the path of the Star Warriors from fighting each others forever. You must choose a side..."

"Oh! You and your..." begun Serty... but the two couldn't argue as there was a deafening sound.

BOOOM!

The sound of an explosion to be more exact... and the screams of terror of cappies!

Large columns of smoke rose from Cappytown...

"Cappytown... is on fire!" said Tuff.

Metaknight grabbed Serty by where his neck was supposed to be and raised him above the ground!

"What kind of trick is that, monster?" asked Metaknight in a threatening way.

"I... I don't know! I didn't knew those three would show up! I wasn't there during the briefing!" he quickly replied.

Judging from the surprise in his eyes... he was saying the truth. Metaknight let the green puffball go. He turned to Kirby and then, Kirby understood. Kirby nodded and everyone ran toward the town...

* * *

When Kirby, Metaknight, Tuff, Serty, Falala, and Fololo arrived on the scene, the entire town was on fire! Various bodies were on the floor... obviously, this wasn't a fake attack, like when Duales attacked.

The NME forces had attacked... and already, there were many casulties... and on both sides judging from the various broken NME items laying around and pieces of broken armor.

"What... happened here?" asked Serty, looking around...

...and then, there was a deafening sound... the sound of someone punching with a LOT of strenght!

Only one person could strike with so much physical strenght... well, Kirby only knew of one person like that. Knuckle Joe!

BAAAAAM!

"TAKE THAT!" yelled Knuckle Joe, punching a monster right in the face and making a gigantic hole in his face, killing it instantly.

Knuckle Joe was not alone however. Sirica was there as well, fighting the best she could.

"There's too many of them!" yelled the female warrior.

"Way too many!" yelled back Knuckle Joe.

Metaknight couldn't believe it... the two were there, fighting a real moving wall of monsters... he had never tought that the NME would someday launch a full scale assault on Popstar, never, ever...

Leading the charge were Mash, 706, and Wilde...

The three landed in front of Knuckle Joe and Sirica...

"Huh? What are those?" asked the fighter.

"No idea! They look a bit like Kirby... exept the small black one!"

Wilde grinned. "So... Knuckle Joe and Sirica, I presume? Knuckle Joe... I am very, very skilled with the Fighter ability and I always dreamed of fighting Jecra's son in an one-on-one fight using the Fighter ability..."

Knuckle Joe stared at the purple puffball. "What? You..."

"Time is a terrible thing to waste, Knuckle Joe!... too bad yours is up!"

Wilde jumped toward the warrior and the two begun to fight...

During this time, Sirica stared at 706.

"Heh! You look a bit small to be a high-ranked NME monster! I'll slice you into pieces in seconds!" she said, confident.

"I am a NZ, an elite soldier of the NME. I am mightier than any monster you ever fought in the past. Defeating you will be as easy as stealing candy from a baby." stated 706.

"Confident, I see! Well, I guess it's time to send you back to your master... in little slices!" she said as she dashed toward the black enemy.

Then, the two began to fight too...

Serty dashed toward Mash, confused. "What... what is happening here?"

Mash smiled. "Good news! We finally tricked Dedede into buying an entire army, thus allowing a full scale assault!"

Serty smiled at the news... but his smile quickly disappeared. "That's good!... but... why are there so many civilian casualties? The cappies are peaceful! They shouldn't offer much resistance!"

Mash's smile widened. "Actually... we're not capturing this planet. Our orders were clear... We must leave no building standing, no survivor. Men, women, children... even the plants and the animals! We're nuking the entire planet!"

Serty widened his eyes in horror... why? Why was the NME destroying such a peaceful world? It was not as if Popstar was like that Hydra planet they destroyed a century ago...

"Serty, Father Nightmare has decided that Popstar's very existance is a threat to the NME. It must be destroyed at all cost for our safety."

Serty became enraged at such a decision. "NO! I refuse to believe this! Father Nightmare would never murder innocents!"

Mash stared at Serty... he was looking at him with such arrogance... "Serty Serty Serty... Yamikage was right. You were not ready psychologically. Serty... if we let the inhabitants of Popstar survive, they will revive the Star Warriors! Everyone know that it was on this very world that they were first created..."

"Non-sense!" yelled Serty! "NON-SENSE! Do they look ANYTHING like what the legends said they were? Is Cappytown anything like the legendary crystal city, Rainbow Resort? Is King Dedede anything like his ancestors? NO! Popstar changed! It's no longer the capital of Evil as it once was! Why didn't Father realised this?"

"I had enough, Serty! We told Yamikage all about this throught the transmission channel... and he is disappointed with you! Are you with the NME or not?" asked Mash.

Serty turned to Metaknight... "Yes... I am with the NME... and I shall serve Nightmare's cause..."

Serty took a capsule labelled Beam ability!

"... by turning against those that twisted the ideals of the NME to pursue their selfish desires!"

He thrown the capsule, releasing it's content and then inhaled it, gaining a strange clown-like hat and a small blue rod!

Serty took a battle stance.

"So... you turned against your Father, Nightmare? You turn away from us?" said Mash, not really surprised.

"My loyalty to Nightmare and the NME is undying... and as such, I shall cleanse it's ranks from corrupted monsters like YOU!" said Serty.

Mash winded up for a punch and struck only air as Serty jumped next to Metaknight. He whispered to the knight...

"You can use Galaxia against him. He's no good with inhaling and copying."

Metaknight whispered back, a bit confused... "Why are you helping us?"

Serty smiled. "The Nightmare I know would never kill innocents. May they be in the ranks of the NME or the Star Warriors... monsters are monsters and must be terminated!"

The knight and the green puffball pointed their respective weapons toward the black puffball and then dashed foward.

"TAKE THAT!" yelled Metaknight.

"BEAM ATTACK!" yelled Serty.

"DIE!" yelled Mash.

SLAAAASH!  
ZAAAAAAP!

Mash missed his attack... but Metaknight and Serty did not! Using Galaxia, Metaknight made a deep cut in Mash's face... but this was not enough to kill the hardly puffball. However, Mash did not survive the beam attack that followed. His entire body was shocked from the inside, causing the internal organs to turn to the same color than his skin...

Wilde heard the sounds of the attacks and jumped away from Knuckle Joe.

"MAAAAASH!" she screamed!

With tears in her eyes, she dashed toward Mash's dying body with no regards to her own safety. Once she made it in close, she could only see that she was too late... she turned to Serty...

"Why? Why did you turned against us?" she asked.

"Wilde... Don't you understand? This is not the reason we were born... we were not born to kill innocents. We were born to protect. I will protect, just as Nightmare instructed me to." he replied.

Wilde smiled. "You truly follow the NME ideals to the end... but you are doing a mistake. You will come to understand why Popstar is a threat..."

Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion! A Destrayar!

The huge spaceship fired at the NME troops, using it's powerful cannons to obliterate the monsters.

"RETREAT! RETREAT!" screamed 706!... but it was too late.

While the battle raged on, Dedede's army of Waddle Dees had arrived and while they were relatively weak compared to the invading monsters, they were still winning thanks to the chaos the arrival of the Destrayar caused.

"CHARGE!" yelled Waddle Doo, the commander of the army of Waddle Dees.

The Waddle Dees charged into the flock of monsters, wielding various weapons ranging from actual weapons like spears and swords to other... things... like frying pans and brooms.

Not only that but since Knuckle Joe's foe had stopped fighting, he joined the fray!

The monsters were stuck! To the north, a huge army of Waddle Dees armed to the teeth and to the south, a crazy Demon Hunter.

Quickly enough, the monsters were all defeated and only Wilde and 706 remained.

"Errr... ouch?" said 706.

He ran for his life, getting away.

"You BASTARDS! We WILL be back!" screamed Wilde as she ran for her life too!

Kirby and everyone else stood in the middle of the ruins that was once Cappytown... Waddle Doo approached Metaknight.

"Sir!" he begun. "It looks like we driven the enemy out thanks to that Destroyar and to Kirby's friends!"

"You played a huge part in this victory." replied Metaknight. "Without your intervention, not even that Destroyar could have saved this town. Even if King Dedede punish you... know that you have my respect."

The Waddle Doo smiled... or would have, if he had a mouth. "Do not worry, sir! The king cannot ignore the fact that we just saved the town! He cannot punish us for doing our job as soldiers, right?"

"You're right." said Metaknight. "I want to speak to King Dedede. I want to know why he allowed the NME to launch a full scale assault..."

Tuff turned to Metaknight. "Metaknight? I just wonder... what happened to my sister? I mean... they got her to safety, right?"

The Waddle Doo laughed. "Don't worry kid! Altought I'm saddened by the fact that not everyone could make it to the castle... know that your sister is among the survivors!"

Tuff sighed, relieved...

Metaknight turned toward the castle... it had been spared from the assault... which meant that King Dedede must be cooperating with the NME... that, or he doesn't know yet that the NME just destroyed his kingdom...

* * *

Escargoon frowned. He hated to admit it... but he was ashamed of serving King Dedede. It seemed as if he was caring more about his obsession against Kirby than about his duties as the ruler of the land...

He just couldn't understand how Dedede came to accept the offer...

"Escargoon... I want a report now..." the king was shaking... he guessed... no, he KNEW what had appeared outside of the safety of the castle... but the guilt kept him from standing up and looking at what he had done himself...

Escargoon frowned. What to say? How could he announce such a disaster to the king?

"A REPORT! NOW!" yelled the fat king! It was so weird... had there been anger in the king's order?... or terror?

"My king..." slowly begun Escargoon, looking down. "As you ordered them... the monsters stepped into the town and went to search for Kirby using any mean necessary... and as such, they begun to systmatically destroy everything they ran into, so that Kirby wouldn't be able to hide anywhere. Sadly, many inhabitants perished during the operation..."

King Dedede stopped gazing at his feet and decided to look throught the window... the sky... it was covered in a veil of darkness... the smoke from the burning kingdom... from his ruined kingdom...

"How many perished?" asked the king.

"Err..." Escargoon hesitated...

"I shall not repeat myself! How many perished?" asked again Dedede.

"At least a hundred inhabitants." said quietly the elderly servant.

Dedede stood up and walked to the window... and as he stared at the ruins of Cappytown, everything seemed to grow dark around him...

"My Excellency? Are you feeling alright?" asked the servant.

"You are nothing but a shame to our family! You are unworthy of your name!" his mother had told him when he had begun ruling over the land, years ago...

"You call yourself a king? Lazy, no-good show-off!" this was from his father...

Dedede could see the bodies and the wrecked bodies... He had not dared to punish the Waddle Dees when they came back to the castle... for unlike him, they had done their duty. Unlike him, they were worthy of being servants of the house of the Dedede... they were all worthy...

He turned to face Escargoon. He, too, was a worthy servant. He was so smart and cunning... and when he tought about it, Escargoon had more experience than him as a ruler. After all, it had always been Escargoon that took care of the daily royal duties and signed most contracts. He did much in his name... and many of those deeds he should have done them himself unstead of giving the responsabilities to his servant.

It was true. He had the name, the appearance, and shared his ancestor's skill with the hammer... but he was the opposite of his ancestor. The legendary King Dedede, first of the name...

All he had ever wanted was to be recognised as worthy of his name... and all he ever brought was weakness and disappointment. He was a disappointing ruler... and the ruins of his kingdom was the greatest proof of it.

In the end, Dreamland was destroyed not by it's enemies... but by the incompetance of their final ruler, King Dedede the fool. Would that be how people would remember him? As the fool who was ready to destroy the entire kingdom for a SINGLE creature... and an innocent one at that?

No! Not innocent! It was all Kirby's fault! All his fault! Ever since he came, three years ago, everything went wrong!... but then, he realised that things started going wrong way before Kirby's arrival... which meant that Kirby was not the cause of the problem...

He turned toward the NME monitor. It was their fault for selling him bad monsters!... but then again, the problems begun before he started making transactions with that corporation...

He turned to Escargoon. It was most probably Escargoon's fault! Yes! That back-stabbing bastard!... but then, he was his best servant... why would he be the source of his problems?

The Waddle Dees? Metaknight? The mayor? Waddle Doo? No... none of them were responsible for his problems...

It was no use hiding it anymore... he was the most grossly incompetant, heartless, moronic, retarded, naive, deaf, blind, and oblivious ruler Dreamland had ever had. It didn't mattered if Kirby would have been here or not! He would have ruined the kingdom anyway! He was unworthy of his name! Unworthy of the legendary blood flowing in his veins!

"My King?... you seem troubled!" Escargoon didn't understood why his kind was so upset.

"Escargoon... am I... a good ruler?" asked the king, the words coming out slowly... as if he had difficulty speaking.

Escargoon hesitated... the anwser was obvious! King Dedede was the king and he must not insult him!... but then, after all he did... no! He must not think in such a way! King Dedede did so much for the kingdom...

He tought, really hard... King Dedede did much for the kingdom... but what? All he could think was of the king's mistakes and nothing else. He tried to think of how kind of a ruler he was, how caring he was, how he respected his people and listened to their needs... but it all felt fake to him. King Dedede was not a good ruler and he knew it... altought he struggled to try and hide the truth from himself. He had too much respect for the king to betray him... especially now.

Escargoon tried to speak... but the words didn't came out as espected. "You are... a... a..." he tried to say that King Dedede was a good ruler... but couldn't.

King Dedede turned his back to Escargoon, staring back at the ruins...

"Don't waste your breath..." said the fat king.

The king knew he would have to give explanations to his people about what happened and why... but he couldn't think of anything. It was his fault... all his fault. No Kirby's... not the NME's... it was HIS fault to him and him alone.

They would probably kick him out of his own kingdom... or worse, he would taste the same medecine he tried to give to Kirby... in short, an unnofficial execution...

As the sun was setting, the fire had disappeared as the surviving cappies had put out the fire. Thankfully, the number of victims hadn't been quite as high as espected... altought it was still much worse than anything Cappytown ever went throught in the past.

King Dedede decided to cancel the banishment on Kirby and to let him and his friends inside the castle. It was the first thing to do. Holding a grudge against the pink puffball wasn't going to make him a better ruler after all. He needed to put his act together now...

* * *

"My Queen! This dish is a soup of tortured children' tears with a fine mix of blood taken from dying soldiers on a battlefield where a meaningless battle took place! The aroma of despair and lack of meaning is very good! Since this soup is a bit bland by itself, we also included crackers made out of the scales of Lunar Dragons whose eggs were crushed flat by Star Warriors! Also, we have a wine of pure jealousy to offer to you as well! The jealousy has matured for more than twenty years, becoming a fine mix of sour hatred and envy!" said the servant.

02 stared at the crimson soup, the green wine, and the blue crackers. To a normal Dark Matter, this would seem like a feast... and it probably would be a feast even to her.

She took one of the crackers in a delicate way and slowly dropped it into the soup. Then, she used her spoon to take it out of the soup. She ate the cracker and then tasted the wine.

"Hmmm..." said the Queen as she tasted the dish. "Good... the despair, lack of meaning, and jealousy all mix together well... but there's a definitive lack of hatred to the mix. Well, the chef cannot get it right everytime I guess..." said the Queen in her usual, bored tone.

BLAM!

The door was slammed open as a NZ Dark Trooper entered the room! Judging from his bandages, he was the poor Dark Trooper the Queen had slammed into the wall yesterday...

"MY QUEEN! MY QUEEN!" screamed the small black ball with feet.

02 frowned. She suspected what that stupid black ball may have to say...

"IT'S KIRBY! IT'S KIRBY!" he screamed.

"Just slow down, idiot... and I already told you not to interrupt me during my dinner." she said.

"My Queen... it's really important! The assault on Popstar... it failed!"

02 became all tense as the anger rose within her. A tear of blood fell into her soup and she alsmost crushed the spoon in her hand.

"How?" she asked. "How?... HOW? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? Explain yourself!"

The NZ Dark Trooper made a step backward, afraid that the queen would slam into the wall again...

"Errr... it seems that we met into more resistance than planned. King Dedede's army attacked, which we had not espected but most importantly... a Destrayar class battleship attacked." explained the small Dark Trooper.

Another bloody tear fell into the soup. "Explain yourself... GO ON! FINISH WHAT YOU BEGUN!"

The NZ Dark Trooper yelped in terror and proceeded to continue. "S... s... sorry my Queen! It seems like the warriors who defeated Nightmare gathered and formed a small group! They attacked our troops and whipped them good! Also... the Dream Matter Mash is reported deceased and Serty... well... err... how can I say it? Well... he kinda... betrayed... us..."

02 stood up.

"You're going to slam me into the wall... I guess..." said sadly the Dark Trooper.

"Yes... if you do not get out of my line of sight this instant!" said quietly the queen.

The NZ Dark Trooper ran away as quickly as it could and then, 02 sat down back on her throne and tasted the soup. She smiled...

"Oh! Look at that! My tears of hatred actually made this dish taste better! Well, tell the chef to include some bloody tears of hatred next time he makes that dish, understood?" asked the queen.

The servant bowed down. "I exist for the sole purpose of serving you, glorious Queen!"

The servant left. 02 stared at her dish and then continued eating. Between two bites, she tought aloud...

"Well! It looks like those Dream Matters guys weren't quite as psychologically stable as planned! Nevertheless... it's not like a couple of Star Warriors and their wannabes can defeat the Forces of Darkness. After all, as long as Ripple Star is under our control, I have nothing to fear from that Kirby reincarnation... and anyway, it's not like I gave such an important task to that fool, Nightmare. Dark Metaknight is sooo much more dependable. I'm sure that if Kirby and his flea-bitten friends show up on Ripple Star, he will be able to crush them quickly and efficiently..."

02 finished the dish and smiled.

"Well... I'm full! I wonder if Nightmare completed the new HR-H MK-III! It's not like I'm paranoid... but I prefer to have an overkill than give Kirby chances. I gave the original too many chances and it almost lead our the Forces of Darkness to ruin... I must definitely not repeat those mistakes! I will give Kirby and his friends a good reason to fear the NME!"

02 laughed like the evil maniacal mastermind she is!

"Well! That felt nice. It was a while that I didn't used my evil laugh! Heh! Maybe I should pratice it a bit for when I'll announce my new politics to those fools on that Jelly Star that Dark Reaper just conquered in my name? Hehehehe!"

02 stood there. It felt good, being the ruler of the Forces of Darkness when your reign was threatened only by a loosy Kirby reincarnation, a single Dream Matter traitor, and a small gang of worthless Demon Hunters who were following on the Star Warriors' footsteps... and even then, about those Demon Hunters...

02 got up and walked to the window. Two large spheres of black liquid were at a local spaceport, floating between the crimson surface and the black sky. Between the two Dark Comet battlecruisers were a dozen of Destrayars or so.

02 counted the Destrayars... and then returned to to her throne and sat on it. She pressed a few buttons and a monitor came down from the ceiling.

Nightmare's picture appeared on screen...

"Ha! My Queen..." said Nightmare as he bowed before his master. "As you can see, we sent the captured Demon Hunter ships back to Dark Star, as ordered."

02 smiled. "Well... you said that there was supposed to be 17 ships, don't you?"

"Yes, my Queen!" anwsered the caped villain.

02 suddenly exploded in a fit of rage! "YOU NO-GOOD MORON! YOU LET THE LAST SHIP ESCAPE, INCOMPETANT RETARD!" she screamed!

Nightmare's grin was replaced with an expression of sheer terror. "I'm... I'm sorry! A sli... sli... slight miscalculation! I... I... I'll fix that on the double!"

"I HOPE FOR YOU!" she screamed before slamming her right hand on the control panel on the throne, almost breaking it and deactivating the monitor, thus ending the transmission.

02 frowned. That idiot! Didn't he knew that all that was needed for her plans to fail was a single rogue ship filled with more moronic Star Warrior wannabes? Didn't that fool learn his lesson already, after repeated poundings throught the millenias?

02 turned to face Dark Metaknight, who was standing in the shadows, awaiting orders.

"I had enough!" stated the evil queen. "That stupid moron... he cannot do anything right! Starting from now, I want you to go to his base and to make ABSOLUTELY sure that NOTHING goes wrong! I mean it! I do NOT want to see anymore mistakes! We are too close to victory for a gang of stupid retards to foil our plans!"

Dark Metaknight bowed before his queen... "Yes, my Excellency..."

Then, he vanished into the shadows.

The dark queen stood up and returned to the window, gazing at the Destrayars.

"I hope that fool Nightmare will complete the HR-H MK-III on schedule! I can't stand having that dumb star-shaped planet on the map of the solar system anymore!"

* * *

In one of the many meeting rooms within Dedede's castle, Kirby, Metaknight, Knuckle Joe, and Sirica had gathered to discuss of the situation and of what course they should take next...

"So..." begun Metaknight. "You and the others came when you detected a high concentration of monsters on Popstar and came only to find the NME launching an all-out offensive?"

"Indeed!" replied Sirica. "In fact. The reason why we were the only two fighting on ths surface was that most of the monsters had decided to attack the ship unstead. The others had to take care of them... yes... unfortunately."

She seemed kind of sad as she finished her sentance... Metaknight suspected why she was acting like that...

Knuckle Joe, him, looked down, strangely silent...

"They didn't make it..." guessed Metaknight... and obviously, he had guessed right.

"Dozens upon dozens of monsters boarded the ship... Those who remained on the ship stood no chance against such a humongous number of NME agents. In the end, they had to activate the Crew Purifier Shockwave to make sure the monsters wouldn't take the ship while still making sure it would be usable for us when we would have won the battle on the surface." stated the fighter.

Then, Tiff and Serty entered the room... and Tiff was no longer in a wheelchair!

"See?" said the green puffball. "I told you that Maxim Tomatoes are effective!"

"Tiff..." tried to say Metaknight... but he could barely say anything that Tiff interrupted him.

"I heard everything. I know what happened. I'm sorry I couldn't have helped when my friends were in need..." said Tiff.

"Bah! It's not like you would have been able to do anything while stuck in a wheelchair!... and you're not much of a fighter to begin with!" stated Sirica.

It was true. Tiff couldn't have helped in the state she was in... and even then, what she would have been able to do? She had nearly no experience fighting. Her only outstanding skill was to summon Kirby's warpstar.

"Our priority should be to think of something. The NME is back on it's feet... I don't know how they could do it so fast but they did... even Nightmare is completely revived as Serty confirmed. They have fully functionnal bases, a working armada, tons of agents..." stated Metaknight... but he couldn't finish.

"In short, the odds are stacked pretty badly against us." said Tiff.

"Heh! Whatever their advantage? If they come to us, we'll beat them up, one by one! We'll wear them down and strike them down, like we did last time!" said Knuckle Joe, full of confidence.

"Actually" said Serty. "This won't work. Last time, they didn't espected anything. They had no defenses. Now, they're organised. They have a full war fleet, powerful guards... and everyone, face it! We can beat up one or two Dream Matters... but I doubt we could take on 30 at once!"

"Well... what choice do we have? It's not like we have much options..." said Tiff.

Metaknight wondered... how could the NME recover like that? Normally, it took several generations for Nightmare to return... and now, it had only taken a few months. What had happened now that hadn't happened the last times Nightmare had been defeated?

... and what of the others? He remembered that many more Demon Hunters, not just a single Destrayar, had survived the battle against Nightmare. Knuckle Joe and Sirica cannot be the last survivors!

"Knuckle Joe, Sirica..." begun the knight. "Are you SURE that you are the only ones remaining? This is far from the only ship your group had..."

Sirica frowned. "Well..."

Knuckle Joe punched the table around which the group was discussing with a lot of strenght, almost breaking it! Obviously, he was frustrated!

Sirica turned to the fighter, wondering why he had such a reaction. "Hey! What's your problem?"

"You know very well what is my problem!" stated the fighter. "The others... all the other ships disappeared one by one, without leaving a trace! ALL of them vanished!"

Metaknight closed his eyes and tought... how could all those ships disappear so quickly?... and what had happened to the warriors that were in each of the ships?

He opened his eyes. They had only one ship left and there was barely enough of them left to take on even a single enemy ship, let alone a full fleet... he hated to admit but... the NME had the advantage by far. They had recovered almost instantly and now, only a handful remained to fight them. The battle seemed already lost before it even begun...

"Our chances of victory... are slim." stated coldly Metaknight.

"Actually..." begun Serty.

Everyone turned to the green puffball...

"I believe that our enemies has a SERIOUS weakness which we could exploit... a weakness that is so big that if it fell in our hands, even a small group like ours could take them on!" he said.

Serty smiled as everyone kept on staring at him, in disbelief... but well, since this was such a desesperate situation, was there any more choices? If Serty was right and that such a weakness existed, it would probably be their only hope for survival.

"You know, Metaknight... I believe you're the one who should give out explanations. You know... those legends you know of?" said the green living ball.

Metaknight shrugged. "Bah! Only legends... They won't help us. What about of that weakness the NME has?"

Serty smiled. "You know what I am talking about... you know... THE Legend. The one about the legendary weapons... the weapons that repel the Darkness."

Metaknight shrugged again. "That legend? It won't help us, I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Tiff. "You say that you know many legends about the origins of the Star Warriors and all... but you keep them to yourself all the time! Maybe there's some important details in them... details that you could have overlooked!"

"Really, it's nothing really... Just old stories..." said the knight, not wanting to speak of them about the legend.

"You know, I'm fed up with that anwser! You know stuff, tell us!" said Knuckle Joe, stating everyone's opinion.

"Just old stories... nothing really." repeated Metaknight, shrugging again.

"PUYO!" yelled Kirby, angrily! He had remained quiet for the entire conversation so far.

Metaknight shrugged. Those were all unimportant and false stories and he knew. A white shadow, spreading a veil of darkness? Please! A sword made of the tears of people? You wish! A planet with a black sky and a red, liquid surface? Come on! That cannot be!

"We're waiting!" said Tiff, just as annoyed as everyone else at Metaknight's unwillingness to speak.

"Alright! You win..." said Metaknight. "They say that the ruler of Darkness is something they call the "white shadow"... which is totally false since everyone knows it's Nightmare which means that the story is not worth..."

"Metaknight!" interrupted Tiff. "It's not becease ONE detail is false that the stories are worthless! Continue on."

Metaknight shrugged again... he hated those stories... he didn't knew why, he just did. They remainded him of a part of his past he had willingly put aside and which he would rather not be remainded of...

"Well... so they say that the ruler of Darkness is a white shadow and... that story is so stupid..."

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Puyoooo..." slowly said Kirby.

"Alright! Alright! I'm on it! They say that the ruler of Darkness is the white shadow and that it was helped by a blue, grey, and black shadows... not that any of these exist in the NME!"

Sirica sighed. "This is going to take forever... forever I tell you!"

Metaknight begun to grow annoyed. "You know what? Those stories are DUMB! It won't lead us anywhere!"

Serty jumped and landed right in front of Metaknight. "Yeah right. Just like you're sooo scared of losing that mask of yours, right? You can't handle the truth. You can't handle anything. You act all tough on the outside but in fact, you're just an unnassuming wimp!"

"Who do you think you are to tell me that?" asked the knight, angered by that remark. "You're a NME agent!"

Serty frowned. "Yes... YES! Discredit those who point out the truth by blaming them for who they followed in the past! You know, say what you want, I'm on your side now. Just carry on with those stories before everyone in this room dies of old age, OK?"

Metaknight shrugged. Hated those stories. HATED them I told you!

"OK... the ruler of Darkness is the white shadow and has three lesser shadows following her. As it appeared, so did a veil of darkness which is really du..." he stopped.

Everyone stared at him, angry...

"COUGH! I mean... as it appeared, so did a veil of darkness. That darkness covered the entire world and stole the minds of all things and..."

Then, as Metaknight continued, Kirby's eyes widened as he remembered his dream.

It was exactely the same as his dream!

The moon and the stars were covered with a veil of darkness. A great, dark power came to destroy the peace of this city from beyond reality.

A gigantic white shadow, following by a black, a blue, and a grey one, appeared. Thousands of monsters, their hearts pitch-black with evil, fell from the sky and begun to bring destruction and pain to all.

The white shadow chuckled... this voice... it was filled with so much anger... so much hatred... if pure Evil had a voice, it was this one, without a doubt.

But then, a blinding pink light appeared and consumed the veil of darkness. The shadows, one by one, dived toward the unknow pink light, trying to destroy it... but the shadows were all driven away, one by one.

The people of the small city came out, no longer afraid of the Darkness. Even the king came out to fight!

Together, with the pink light guiding them, the people of the city chased the Forces of Darkness from their world... and even took the battle to the skies! People came from space, joining the people in their fight and soon enough, the Forces of Darkness were overwhelmed.

However, the white shadow suddenly screamed and a white, blinding light consumed the people. Great cataclysms struck the city and the Forces of Darkness begun to gain back ground.

Then, the pink light and four friends rose. The first wielded Stardux, the legendary hammer. The second wielded Galaxia. The third wielded Magicka, the living paintbrush. The last onewielded the Ripple Rod, a weapon strangely similar to the Star Rod.

Each of the four friends' weapons glowed and then, the pink light pointed a huge crystal at the white shadow. The crystal transformed into a transluceant sword with two blades and then fired a gigantic beam at the white shadow, destroying it.

With the white shadow gone, the Forces of Darkness vanished...

Yes... it was exactely his dream!

"... and as such, you now understand how crazy the story is. A pink light? Four legendary weapons? A sword with two blades? A white shadow? This cannot be." finished Metaknight.

But then, Kirby began to jump up and down, trying to say something! "PUYO! PUYO! PUPUYO! PUYO!"

Everyone stared at Kirby, not understanding what he was saying... everyone save for Serty.

"See? He thinks too that it's crazy." said Metaknight.

"No!" said quickly Serty. "I can understand him... and he's saying that he SEEN the story before his very eyes, during a dream! It looked so real to him and now that you, Metaknight, told the story, he's sure that it's real."

Metaknight turned to Kirby... "What? You're sure that this is a real legend?"

Kirby nodded. He begun to speak again and once again, Serty translated.

"He says that it took place in Cappytown... but Cappytown was different. It was permanently nighttime and everything was made of crystal. Everything seemed to glow in the colors of the rainbow." translated the green puffball.

Metaknight closed his eyes... this description... it was the description of the long lost city, Rainbow Resort, the place where all Star Warriors came from... but this cannot be! Cappytown, being Rainbow Resort? How could such a legendary city revert into a small, peaceful town like this?

"Even if the legends are real..." begun Metaknight. "It still doesn't matter. How is this legend going to help us?"

"Well... the Forces of Darkness were defeated by a double-bladed crystal sword, right?" asked Tiff.

Metaknight nodded.

"Well... if we can find that crystal and those legendary weapons, we will maybe be able to use them to drive the NME away!" said Tiff.

"In case anyone noticed." said Sirica. "We're not even sure those weapons actually exist, you know!"

"Well..." begun Knuckle Joe. "I did heard rumors of strange living weapons during my travels. Of course, since I'm not interested in weapons, I didn't paid much attention... but one of those rumors were weird. It spoke of a huge white paintbrush which spoke to it's owner and moved by itself on top of making physical everything it drawn."

"Furthermore, one of those weapons is definitely real!" said Tiff, pointing at Galaxia. "You cannot deny Galaxia's existance!"

"Maybe... but the Star Warriors did search for such weapons... and even tought we found some of them, they were sealed!" Metaknight's eyes widened. He had said too much already! If he continued, his memory could resurface and he doesn't want that! The past is the past!

"So... you do say that they exist!" said Tiff, smiling. She got him!

"Hmm... Did I said anything? No... I did not..." said nervously the knight.

The green puffball slapped Metaknight with all of his strenght!

SLAP!

"What's your problem? You're scared of the past? Get ahold of yourself!" he said angrily!

"There are some parts of my past... I'd rather forget." stated slowly Metaknight. "Hmm... actually, I didn't said anything. Sorry."

SLAP!

"Stop that!" ordered the knight.

"Actually, I believe that Serty is right. Why do you act like that? You're normally so wise and calm... and now, out of a sudden, you act in such a childish way becease of some stupid story? May you like that story or not... know that your childish reactions is getting in the way! You want the NME to win?" asked Tiff.

Metaknight jumped foward as he was suddenly kicked out of his depressed state.

"Of course not! What kind of question is that?" he said.

Kirby laughed. It was the first time he had saw Metaknight act like this... He didn't knew Metaknight would react like this to just a simple legend...

"Well... now that this is done, can we focus on our task now and leave Metaknight alone for now?" asked Sirica.

"Well... I guess that you're right. Since those so-called weapons exist, I guess we should go look for them!" stated Knuckle Joe. "It's not like our little group is a threat to the NME in our current state after all!"

It was decided. They would leave on the Destrayar and go look for those famous legendary weapons. But first... all those who have families or friends on Popstar must say goodbye to them. Furthermore, they will have to get supplies and repair the Destrayar...

Thus, the group begun the preparations for their journey...

Unknow to them, a single black ball with spikes and a single, yellow eye had seen and heard everything.

It flied toward the sky, unnoticed...

"Drats!" it whispered to itself. "I must inform Dark Reaper on the double! Looks like the Memory Freeze is wearing off!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	11. Departure

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah... 

I know that this chapter is quite short and all but well...

* * *

"So... you are leaving..." slowly stated Tiff's mother, Lady Like.

"Yes..." repeated the young girl.

Tiff had espected her parents to be upset, to say that it was too dangerous, that type of stuff... but strangely enough, altought they did looked sad... they had accepted her decision.

They had told her the reason why they let her go... Throught the three years Kirby was here, they had aknowledged the fact that she was able to take care of herself. In fact, they knew that there was more to the young girl than just hanging with Kirby. The fact that she was able to summon Kirby's warpstar already had gave them a hint that maybe, just maybe, their daughter wasn't quite as normal as they had first espected...

Tuff too, had wanted to come. He too, wanted to help... but both his parents and Tiff had explained that it would be best to remain here... and altought he hated it and complained, he didn't really took action to convaince his parents or leave by his own.

During this time, Metaknight had tried to convaince Sword and Blade from remaining on Popstar to guard Dreamland while he, and the others would go look for the Legendary Weapons... but his efforts had been in vain.

"Stay back, when our good sir need us the most? Don't even think about it!" said Blade.

"Altought we may not be the most skillful warriors... you will still need our help, now that the Demon Hunters were defeated too!" said Blade.

Metaknight stared at the two... they seemed kind of clown-like and weak at times... but they were right. With the Star Warriors defeated in the last war, only the Demon Hunters stood in the NME's way... and now that they're gone too, their group remain as the last independant force to oppose the NME. They will need all the help they can get.

Waddle Doo entered the room...

"I heard everything, sir Metaknight! Do not worry! If those NME goons return, we'll beat'em up again! We will not be caught off guard again!" stated the on-eyed soldier.

Metaknight stared at Waddle Doo. He had always tought that the inhabitants of Dreamland were all just naive, laid back innocents that were easy to fool and crush... but during that attack from the NME, he saw a side of Dreamland which he had never seen before... The people of Dreamland was far stronger and braver than it appeared at first... While he still felt uneasy doing so, he would leave the task of protecting Dreamland to the inhabitants of Dreamland...

* * *

Outside the castle, Cappytown was already almost rebuilt. It shocked Serty so much... the people of Dreamland... they were just like Kirby himself; there was more to them than meet the eye. Altought they grieved for the lives lost during the attack, the town was almost back to what it used to be... already, children played around, adults minded their business...

Serty followed the pink puffball as he met each of the persons which had influenced his life before, so that he may translate the puffball's words to each person.

Altought Kirby still tought that he would return, Serty knew otherwise... the Legendary Weapons were not found in ten millenias and finding such weapons will be a long, long task... and furthermore, the NME will probably hunt them down and attempt to kill them at every corner.

Their chances of success are very slim... and as such, it was very probable that they would never return to Popstar. Still, they had to go... remaining there, waiting for the NME to crush them was out of question and with the NME back to full power and no army, attacking was not an option either.

As the two puffballs returned to the castle, Serty got lost in his toughts...

He was about to fight his own family... the NME. Could he truly do this? Could he truly turn his powers against his loved ones? If he ran into father Nightmare of uncle Yamikage, would he have the courage to fight? He didn't wanted to think about this... and doing so was meaningless anyway. He had to focus on the present! On their task! They must find the Legendary Weapons and defeat the source of corruption within the NME!

* * *

"Finally! It is completed, as you can see!" announced proudly Nightmare to the gigantic army standing in front of him.

He pointed the large robot behind him...

"This is the HR-H MK-III, my latest creation! This robot was built using the best materials and latest technologies! It can morph between Humanoid and Spaceship mode at will to face any foe and can either be piloted manually or be controlled by an advanced artificial intelligence! Weapon systems include tactical and strategic nuclear and fusion missiles for orbital bombardment, various laser and plasma cannons for air-to-air fighting, a powerful aray of missile and rocket launchers for dealing with small targets... and many more, including titanium scissors, heavy auto-cannons, ultra-high pressure fists, and even, take that, a pulsar generator!"

All of the demons, monsters, and Dark Matters began to whisper. Behind Nightmare was the largest robot ever built. It was about as large as King Dedede's castle!

Dark Metaknight, however, was not impressed.

"Your technological toy does not impress me." stated the black knight. "It's power is far inferior to the Copy ability. A skilled Dream Matter could nuke it very easily."

Nightmare seemed angered by this remark. "What are you implying, Great Dark Metaknight? The HR-H MK-III is the most powerful war machine in the entire Universe! EVEN if all of the Dream Matters were to unite, the HR-H MK-III would crush them all in seconds!"

Nightmare approached and bent down, his face being rrrreally close to Dark Metaknight. He stared into the knight's eyes in a threatening way...

"Fear! Fear will keep the worlds under the control of the NME! The fear of the HR-H MK-III!" he slowly said, making sure that each word would be heard clearly and loudly.

Dark Metaknight smiled under his mask. "You know very well that empires that rely on fear never last. Your toy won't impress people for long. It is the honor and power of our army that allowed us to gain and keep control of more than half of the Universe for ten millenias, not your stupid mechanical toys!"

Nightmare backed away, grasping his head and red light erupting from his mask! He was NOT happy!

"YOU... HOW DARE YOU? We would have NEVER conquered so many worlds without the Mad Mechanism! Without the Teleportation Network! Without our ability to create and train soldiers within days! Heck! The Star Warriors would still be terrorising the world if it wasn't from MY inventions!" yelled the raging General.

Dark Metaknight seemed amused... "Heh! Isn't freeing the world from the terror of Light our main goal? I believe that switching the element of the terror is a weird way to free the world."

Nightmare frowned... and admitted defeat to the black knight. He was right...

"Alrighty then! But remember that until Light's influence is gone, we'll still need the HR-H MK-III to control some of the more violent worlds, like Popstar!" stated Nightmare.

With that said, Dark Metaknight decided to stop speaking. Nightmare sighed, relieved when he saw that Dark Metaknight stopped making remarks. He turned to the army.

"Anyway... any questions?" asked the caped villain.

* * *

In the Destrayar's briefing room...

"So... where do we go? Any idea where the closest Legendary Weapon may be?" asked Metaknight.

Both Serty and Joe tought for a while... the two had discussed back on Popstar, before departing.

Serty had heard that two artifacts were held on the closest planet to Dark Star, Ripple Star... and the description of the artifacts matched those of the Legendary Weapons!... however, Ripple Star was heavily guarded and as such, the two agreed that those two weapons should be obtained last, when they will have obtained the other Legendary Weapons and got a better ship.

For now, the group would leave this solar system and head to the outter layer, on a world called Floria.

The solar system was rather weird... for it had "two layers". In truth, it was becease that there were two planets on each orbit.

On the farthest orbit, orbiting on the same path as Popstar was Floria, a beautiful world not unlike Popstar which had been, surprisingly enough, mostly spared by the endless war against the NME.

Maybe it was becease of the lack of intelligent life-forms of the fact that there were no ressources on this world but this was never invaded by either side. Since the world was, just like Popstar, not in a strategic position, it was ignored.

Still, Joe had heard rumors about a strange tree which guarded a treasure... a tree called "Twin Wood". He had also heard rumors about this treasure being a very powerful artifact... and according to some of the legends he had heard throught his travels...

"Sleeping within a shrine guarded by two trees sharing a single soul, there is the sentient tool of creation.

It's powers never to be harnessed, the tool finds no master... and yet can be controlled.

The tool creates worlds with it's holy paint... but the nature of those creations is up to the controller.

In the hands of the One who seeks to bring Life, the tool will draw the way to hapiness.

To the One who seeks Destruction, the tool will draw pain and destruction for all those who oppose the One.

But the power remains untapped... for only the kind and creative will be accepted as the tool's friend."

Judging from the legend... this must be Magicka, the living paintbrush, which has been sleeping for ten millenias!

"Knuckle Joe?" asked the masked knight, starting to lose his patience...

"Well, we're going to Floria." announced Knuckle Joe... only to be interrupted before he could finish.

"Floria? There's nothing there! It's in the middle of nowhere!" replied harshly Sirica.

"Hey! Let me finish!" said quickly Joe, annoyed. "Anyway... Magicka's there."

Sirica smiled. "Let me laugh! How can a Legendary Weapon be sealed in such a loosy place?"

Metaknight closed his eyes... he remembered what happened, long ago, when he was in the ranks of the Star Warriors... when there were still living Star Warrior exept himself.

He had heard that many of them had went to Floria, to the Twin Wood Shrine, looking for a powerful artifact... not one of them returned. Some said the shrine was cursed, others said it was a trap... but he now knew why no one returned.

Magicka is one of the Legendary Weapons and as such the very first Star Warriors must have created a terrible guardian using it's power... the Twin Wood.

Creatures created by the original Star Warriors are powerful to behold. The Twin Wood must be crazy strong for it to have survived ten millenias of attacks from both the Star Warriors and NME... Defeating this fabled guardian won't be easy.

Still, he was confident... for they have something the challengers had not in the past: Galaxia, one of the Legendary Weapons. Most probably, the best way to counter the power of a creature born from a Legendary Weapon was by using another Legendary Weapon.

Metaknight turned to Sirica. "Magicka is on this planet. I know it."

Sirica didn't seemed convainced at all... "How can you both be so sure?"

"Back when the Star Warriors were an army rather than just me and Kirby, many of us went to Floria to retrieve an artifact... and none returned. I now believe that the legend is right. Those "two trees sharing a single soul" must be the reason why none of them ever returned." he stated.

"Wait a minute!" said Sirica, slightly frightened. "You say that many Star Warriors attempted to get that Magicka weapon... and never returned?"

"It seems so. They tried... and died." stated flatly the knight.

Sirica seemed a bit discouraged... "Well... I don't want to sound negative but... well... If the Star Warriors failed... then who are we to think that we will succeed?"

Serty grinned. "Heh! Don't worry! We have something that Metaknight's friends did not!" he said, pointing at Galaxia.

Sirica smiled. "Yeah! You're right. No need to be so worried! I'm sure that this tree guardian thing will be no match for our combined strenght, especially with Metaknight and Galaxia at our side!"

"Well... now that we know what is our next destination, I guess we should depart." stated Metaknight.

The meeting ended and everyone went to their post...

* * *

King Dedede looked at the Destrayar as it took off, brining all of the planet's hope with it...

"Sir?" Escargoon was next to the king.

The king looked down... there must be something he can do to help!

He turned around, facing the NME monitor and teleporter... and then, he grinned. Yes, there was a way he could help...

"You aren't going to buy anything, won't you? They're enemies!" said the servant.

Dedede grinned. Buying monsters? Nope! He wasn't going to do that! He had a much, MUCH better idea! He's been had by the NME for so long... now, it's payback time! He'll show everyone that he isn't just a bully! He slowly approached the teleporter system...

TO BE CONTINUED


	12. Floria, the Green Planet

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

Anyway, sorry for not submitting chapters in a while but writting this chapter was a bit harder and longer than the other ones. Anyway, now that it's done, my update frequency should come back to normal now...

* * *

Yamikage stood there, staring at Dark MetaKnight. He always despised the black knight. He always seemed so unnaturally calm, so mysterious, so ridiculously tied to his principles... he always stood out compared to the master, Nightmare. 

Furthermore, Nightmare was the leader of the NME! Why did this grey masked freak was allowed to speak to the master as if he was an equal or even worse, as if he was actually superior?

Such an arrogant creature... it would learn it's place someday... and it would learn the hard way!... but for now...

"Why are you here?" asked the ninja.

Dark MetaKnight walked past him, not even seeing him... what was wrong with that freak?

"Anwser me! The master has put me in charge until he's back... and as such, you will anwser!" said Yamikage in a threatening tone.

The masked creature turned to face him, his yellow eyes flashed threateningly and instantly erased all of the ninja's courage for some reason...

"The Master sent me to make sure that everything would go according to plan and know that it isn't your place to question the Master's orders!"

Dark MetaKnight begun to inspect the machinery...

Yamikage couldn't help but feel hatred toward the knight. He just couldn't stand him... but well, it could be worse. It could have been Serty who came throught the teleporter!

He still couldn't believe it... how could Serty, one of their most promising agents, turn away? Well... not that it is of any concern. Today, Serty will awaken as an adult and when the maturity will appear in his mind, he'll realise his mistakes and return to the NME.

Yamikage smiled... today, Serty will awaken and have a BIG surprise... he regretted that he wouldn't be here to see his reactions to his new state...

* * *

The Destrayar wasn't quite the slowest spaceship ever... but it wasn't the fastest either. 

As such, by the time the group made it to destination, a day had passed...

As Serty opened his eyes, he felt... different... very, very different. He felt something inside of him... something he had never, ever felt before and then, he realised it.

His childhood had ended. He had reached maturity... Did he transform during the night? Did he changed color? Did something happened to him?

He awakened and looked around.

His room was rather plain. The walls were dull grey as well as the bed, which seemed metallic... altought it was only metallic in appearance. A small desk in the back of the room was there along with a smaller chair and an even smaller lamp, the only source of light of the room.

Since he had spent most of his childhood either in the darkness of the NME base or within the darkness of the sealed rooms within Dedede's Castle, he was used to the darkness... in fact, he liked it.

The darkness... he felt relaxed at the veil of darkness in this room formed by the total lack of light. Darkness relieves one of his perceptions, engulf worries and fears and consume them. In the darkness, he felt relaxed and safe... and more than ever, he appreciated it.

Since Serty knew the layout of the room by heart, he didn't tripped even once as he jumped off his bed and made it to the desk, activating the lamp. Instantly, a somewhat weak light filled the room.

Serty was amazed of how sharp his vision was... in fact, all his senses had been greatly improved now. Everything seemed more... real... everything felt easier to grasp...

Serty turned around, staring at the mirror on the wall. He hadn't changed physically in the slightest... exept for a few minor details.

He had the feeling that his eyes had grown sharper in look just as his vision did. That look of innocense was clearly gone from his face and altought the increase in size was next to nothing in truth... becease of the way he now stood, he felt much taller. He also knew of another, hidden detail... and a very important one at that! Unfortunately, for some reason, he couldn't remember what it was and couldn't feel any changes that would allow him to remember what it was.

Serty turned toward the desk and stared at the clock alarm located on top of the piece of furniture. Three numbers were visible... a six and two zeros. This means that it is 6:00 AM... and that he's up early. No one must be awake right now...

Serty deactivated the lamp and jumped into his bed... but sleep didn't came to him, surprisingly. He just stood there, face down, unable to fall asleep...

He figured out that he was simply a bit nervous and jumped off the bed again. This time, he got out of his room and headed toward the cockpit...

When he made it to the room that acted also as a command center, Serty sat down on the co-pilot chair and stared at the infinity of stars beyond the protective transparent substance in front of him.

Then, as Serty looked around, he noticed MetaKnight, sitting in the pilot's chair and doing the same.

"Can't sleep either, isn't it?" asked the knight.

"MetaKnight... Tonight... it was THE night..." stated Serty, assuming MetaKnight knew what he was talking about... but judging from how MetaKnight stared at him, it was obvious he didn't knew...

As such, he decided to explain... "You must know that monsters do not age at the same rate as regular creatures, don't you? Father Nightmare wants us to be ready as soon as possible after all..."

"So, you're telling me that you just reached maturity, right?" asked MetaKnight, guessing what Serty meant.

Serty smiled. "Yep. I'm an old geezer like you now. I'm no longer a child like Kirby... and what is shocking me is that apart from the innocent look... I don't feel that different."

MetaKnight smiled behind his mask. "You did change. Exept for insects creatures, no creature truly feels the difference until they reach situations where the differences are visible. Basically, the only differences between adults and children is the experience... and the fact that the features that were disabled within the children's bodies are active in the adults'."

Serty raised an eyebrow (manner of speaking. He truly has none). "What do you mean by disabled features?"

MetaKnight would have laughed from this question... but he controlled himself and his smile merely widened beneath his mask. "Oh!... such things cannot be explained. In time, you will understand."

Serty nodded and turned back toward the beautiful sea of stars.

"We will arrive in just a few hours, isn't it? Just the time that everyone awaken, that we get breakfast, and that's all. We'll be at Floria very soon, now." said the yellow puffball.

The two stared at the sky...

* * *

Slowly, the Destrayar placed itself in an orbit over the green planet, Floria and then, a smaller ship containing the group came out of the huge battleship. 

The small spaceship went right throught the atmosphere and altought the friction caused the outter hull to catch on fire, it did not burn... altought Kirby did panic during planetfall.

Mid-way throught planetfall, the ship begun to slow down and when the fire disappeared as the ship entered the lower layer of the atmosphere, it had slowed down considerably meaning that the ship landing successfully shouldn't be hard...

The ship continued to fly over the vast forest covering about 70 of the continents...

"Is there any place where we could land? Trees... trees... and more trees..." said Tiff, looking throught the window and seeing nothing but green outside...

"Well, there is a clearing just there." said MetaKnight, pointing at a patch of brown in the vast ocean of green below them.

The ship stopped right over the clearing and then, slowly descended to the ground.

Then, finally, the door opened itself and one by one, the beings within the ship came out.

MetaKnight and Serty came out first, followed by Kirby and Knuckle Joe. Sirica and Tiff were the last to come out. They all looked around...

"Well... from the sky or the ground, it still looks the same! Green stuff absolutely everywhere." stated Knuckle Joe.

"Exept that this is visible from the ground." said MetaKnight, pointing at a large stone tower visible in the horizon...

"Well, since this is the only building, my guess is that Magicka must be located in there." said Sirica. "And anyway, I'm sick of just sitting there and waiting! Exploring the place should definitely be more exciting!"

"PUYO!" yelled happily Kirby. He likes exploring new places! He's sure that he will like it!

Thus, the journey to the strange tower begun...

* * *

A large black semi-liquid sphere with a single yellow eye and orange spikes all over it's back was floating in front of the entrance of the large tower... 

"GENERAL! GENERAL!" yelled a smaller replica of the large one.

The large sphere turned around, slightly annoyed. Dark Reaper didn't liked to be interruped while he gazed at the relics of the past...

"What is it, soldier? Speak, at once!" ordered the Great General.

"Sir! A large unidentified object was spotted on the planet's orbit as several energy signatures!" said quickly the small soldier.

"Calm down, soldier! We have no time to run after UFOs! We're just here to retrieve the ancient relic and then, we're outta this dump! We have no interest in flying objects sightings!" stated the proud Dark Matter general.

"But... it wasn't truly unidentified! After further analysis of the signals we got... it was identified as the sole Destrayar Great Nightmare failed to capture!... and the energy signatures were that of the two Demon Hunters!" said the soldier, still panicking.

"Slow down soldier!" ordered the Dark Matter. "This is quite good. We shall capture the last Demon Hunters! The Queen will be most pleased! Heh! Rest assured, soldier! A sorry batch of Demon Hunters is no match for our highly skilled troops! Furthermore, our Dark Comet-class liquid spaceship is more than a match for their sorry piece of flying junk minerals!"

"But sir!" began to say the smaller Dark Matter. "Among the energy signatures... we detected the signature of the last Star Warrior, MetaKnight, as well as the signature of the Pink Demon!"

This time, Dark Reaper's eye widened.

"YOU INCOMPETANT..." the General calmed down. No need to blame this soldier for it. He simply stated the facts, it was not his fault... "Soldier. It is imperative that we obtain the ancient relic before Kirby does. Go get the Squad Leaders. I must know how many troops we have. We will need all the power we can get if we hope to stop Kirby in time."

The small Dark Matter quickly spun around, flying erratically. It was the Dark Matter's equivalent of a "Yes sir!" gesture.

Then, the small Dark Matter flied into the depths of the forest, toward the base camp.

Dark Reaper turned to the tower again and whispered to himself...

"So, I finally get to fight the legendary enemy that murdered my ancestors, generation after generation, before my Queen finally put an end to it all! I will finally know if the legends about the Pink Demon are true. In the next days, blood shall fill the rivers of this world as I and my troops will engage the dreaded Pink Demon and his allies in a battle to restore our shattered honor! After ten millenias, my line finally has the opportunity to restore it's honor! Kirby... I am not afraid of you! May I live or die, I will have fought in the Queen's name and as such, will bear no regret!"

* * *

Yamikage patrolled the halls since he had nothing better to do. 

Dark MetaKnight got more and more aggravating as time passed. The fool! The worst was that he couldn't do anything since Nightmare was still back on Dark Star, showing his new creation to the Dark Matter specie.

The ninja failed to understand why Nightmare was so nice to the Dark Matters. Unlike other species, he seemed to respect and even fear them. Why? They were nothing more than one more type of monster in his army... and yet, Nightmare almost considered them like superior. Why? Well... maybe it was not his place to know.

BANG!

He tripped over something. He quickly got up and turned toward the Waddle Dee responsible for this!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled the ninja.

The Waddle Dee seemed a bit surprised... and then, it ignored the ninja and continued to clean the floor.

Yamikage turned away. Just a common Waddle Dee monster cleaning the floor. Judging from the fact that it was light brown and from the lack of a NME insigna, it must be a new recruit. No need to go hard on a new recruit and anyway, he didn't paid attention to where he was going... so this was to be espected.

The ninja continued, sighing. He then begun to notice something... there were a lot of Waddle Dees around, suddenly! Sure, Waddle Dees formed the base of the NME work force... but there were so many new recruits, it seemed strange. He didn't remember Nightmare stating that a new batch of Waddle Dees was created, captured, joined, or anything like that... he became a bit suspicious...

Then, he came across a Waddle Doo which seemed like the leader of the new recruits. He decided to question him.

"Hey! You!" said harshly the ninja.

The Waddle Doo stopped what it was doing and turned to face Yamikage. "What is it, great master?"

"I do not remember about a new batch of Waddle Dees being added to our forces! Since you're obviously the Squad Leader, could you give me some explanations?"

"Oh... that? A few monsters came accross my group. They offered us a job on the base and we accepted it. That's all there is to it." stated the Waddle Doo.

Yamikage smiled. No need to worry. This was a typical story. Waddle Dees were very good servants for while they lacked in the physical strenght and intelligence departments, it was easy to make them join the NME and once they were in, they were loyal servants ready to risk their lives anytime for the sake of the NME.

Yamikage continued his patrol...

As Yamikage got out of the hall, the Waddle Doo found himself alone with the Waddle Dees.

"Well... that was easier than espected." whispered Waddle Doo to his second-in-command. "Tell the King that operation Spoiled Rotten Inside Out is going according to plan."

The Waddele Dee nodded and ran off.

* * *

As excited as Kirby was at the idea of exploring this new place... he had never tought that walking throught the forest would be like, the total opposite of what he tought it would be.

While it looked like a forest... jungle was more appropriate. This place was a gigantic jungle... and what a jungle it was!

It was so hot and humid that he could barely breath and it seemed as if all of his sweat was forming a coat of water over him which was rather... uncomfortable.

His feet were hurting. It seemed as if for every step he'd make, his feet would land either on a pointy root, a pointy plant, a pointy animal, or just something pointy... and when he was not stepping on pointy, pointy stuff, he stepped on small thingies that would make a digusting squeeshy sound and cover his feet with disgusting liquid.

The worst, however, were the insects. Those awful, awful insects. They climbed all over him as if he was a mere tree and got all into his eyes and mouth! Worse, they were bitting him non-stop from everywhere, including from within, and soon enough, his entire body was aching!

"PUYO!" screamed Kirby in a mix of pain and disgust as at least two dozens of ugly green winged insects got in his mouth and bit his tongue.

MetaKnight, Tiff, Knuckle Joe, and Sirica were not faring too well either.

The insects were entering Sirica's armor from every little hole and it now seemed as if her armor was made of two layers: the exterior, made of metal and the interior, made of live insects which were bitting her from every angle.

Tiff and Knuckle Joe had problems... and it was similar to Sirica's problems altought the fact that they were wearing clothes unstead of a heavy armor helped them a little.

The worst case was MetaKnight's however. Insects were pouring all over his face from the small opening in his mask, masking his eyes. Soon enough, he felt as if he was blind... especially since the horrific things were biting mercilessly his eyes. He tried to close them but using their sharp fangs, they forced him to keep them open. It was so... painful...

Serty was the only one not having problems. In fact, it seemed that the insects ignored him... altought he was awfully dirty! He was completely covered with mud and he was wearing special shoes made of an extremely light yet hard material...

During the short time that Tiff could get the insects out of her mouth, she asked Serty a question... "Hey! Why aren't you bothered by those disgusting thingies?"

She did not have the time to ask a longer question for a few dozens of brown worms dived right into her mouth... and obviously, they had sharp teeth like the green insects since they all bit her tongue at the same time.

"When travelling in jungles, the secret is not to be afraid of being dirty. This mud is a much better armor than your clothes... and the stench keeps them away from my vulnerable spots." he stated.

It was true, Serty was stinking really badly... but the insects kept away from him.

Finally, Kirb couldn't take it anymore and dived into the closest pond, no matter how dirty it looked. He came out, covered with disgusting green liquid that looked more like slime than water.

"YUCK! KIRBY!" yelled Tiff, disgusted.

Kirby noticed that all the insects ran away from him and those that got on him got stuck in the slimy substance, unable to bite him.

"Puyo!" he said happily.

"Well, I'm happy someone is not afraid of stepping on his pride. Face it, people! We're in a place with extreme conditions, monsters or not! Extreme conditions require extreme solutions! That's all." stated the yellow puffball.

MetaKnight was the next. For the first time in a long, long time, he took off his mask! Thankfully, the jungle was dark so only his yellow eyes were visible... but instantly, eveyone was horrified by the sight of the mask!

The other side of the mask was CRAWLING with thousands of insects more disgusting than the last! A few were still visible, stuck to the knight's face.

The knight shook the mask widly, sending the insects flying and then, he placed the mask back in his backpack. He took out some kind of capsule with a NME logo on it and applied the white liquid inside on his face...

"HEY!" yelled Serty, upset. "That's MY capsule! You stole it!"

"Extreme conditions, extreme solutions you said. I prefer that to mud or slime." stated the knight.

Kirby laughed at Serty as his face turned red under his mask of mud.

After Sirica and Tiff applied the white stuff (which seems to be bug repellent) too, the group continued it's journey and then made it to a clearing, in front of the large stone tower...

"Well! I'm happy we made it! We're out of that disgusting insect den! I wonder if we could clean ourselves or something..." asked Sirica.

"Hey Serty! Got a capsule for such a case?" asked Knuckle Joe.

"HEY! No one is gonna steal my stu..." Serty couldn't finish his sentance.

CLICK

MetaKnight opened a capsule, revealing a strange piece of cloth. "Well, here goes." stated the knight.

Kirby laughed as Serty frowned. "Well... I guess I deserve it for letting MetaKnight carry my stuff in his backpack..."

"Well! You sure have a capsule for every situation! Someone remind me to bring Serty along the next time I go on a journey!" said Knuckle Joe, grinning.

During this time, high in the sky,a black sphere with a single yellow eye blinked as it floated high above the party... it had seen and heard everything.With it's job completed, it flied away, toward an unknow destination...

TO BE CONTINUED


	13. Dark Reaper & Twin Woods

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

"Amazing! Totally... amazing!" said Tiff.

Kirby couldn't believe it either... The tower was impressive from the outside... but never had he suspected that the inside would look like this. It was as if they had entered a whole new world...

The hall was going on further than the horizon and the ceiling was so high up that Kirby tought that he could see the clouds...

"Such an unreal sight... most obviously, this place was created using very powerful magic." stated MetaKnight, who was trying very hard not to let himself stare in awe at the surroundings...

Serty approached the purple walls... "It's so... beautiful and strange. It looks like crystal and yet... it's more like glass..."

"Bah! Those drawings on the walls and the weirdness of it all is amazing and everything but well... we're here for a reason!" said Knuckle Joe, who unlike the others, was not impressed by some walls.

Kirby approached the wall, joining Serty as he stared at the drawings... "Those were sculpted into the crystal probably long before any of us was born... I bet that many of the anwsers to the riddles of the far past are right there, in front of our eyes!" said the yellow puffball.

"Puyo? Pu?" asked the pink ball.

Serty turned to face Kirby. He was obviouslydisappointed. "I'm sorry Kirby. I cannot understand what those drawings means either. I studied a lot of things back at home... but I did not study the symbols of the ancients. One can ony learn so much througbt ten days, you know..."

Suddenly, there was a sound... like a drop of water falling to the ground... and in fact, a drop of water had fell just in front of MetaKnight!

"Hey MetaKnight! Why are you so tense all of a sudden?" asked Sirica.

When she made it next to him and stared at the "water", she understood...

"What the... The water is black?" said Sirica.

Suddenly, a veil of darkness surrounded the group and a wall of dark liquid covered the exit!

"Great! We're trapped!" stated Tiff.

MetaKnight unsheated Galaxia while Sirica unsheated her own sword. Serty and Kirby retreated to the center of the hall, joining the others. Everyone stood in a defensive position... but no one attacked. Eyes appeared in the veil of darkness... but the darkness, whatever it was, did not attack either.

Then, a large chunk of the veil separated itself and took the form of a large semi-liquid sphere. A single, yellow eye appeared in the middle and large brown spikes came out from behind. The sphere hovered in front of the group...

"So... I finally get to meet you, Kirby!" said the black sphere.

"Who are you?" asked Tiff.

The black ball chuckled. "Hehehehe! So, I see that I'm not very well know! Well... that problem shall be solved right now. I am the Great Dark Reaper, one of the three NME Great Generals."

Upon hearing this, MetaKnight became all tense. His eyes widened and Sirica noticed that he was trembling...

"MetaKnight? Are you alright?" she asked.

MetaKnight stood there, completely paralysed by fear... and yet, he didn't knew why he was afraid. He felt as if he knew this Dark Reaper monster... and yet, he knew that this was the first time he met this monster. Why was he afraid? This monster wasn't the biggest or meanest-looking monster ever and while he knew that a monster that calls itself a Great General must be terribly strong... he didn't knew why just hearing about him filled his heart with a nameless fear.

"I... I am alright..." slowly whispered the blue knight, struggling against the urge to turn back and run away.

Kirby stepped foward. "Puyo! Pu! Puyo!"

Dark Reaper stared at the puffball for a moment... "Heh! It's a bit hard to believe, when I look at you right now, that you were the one that felled Great Nightmare! But well... that was to be espected from the one who has the blood of the enemy who killed my ancestors flowing throught his veins."

"So... you're saying that Kirby's ancestors killed your ancestors, right?" said Knuckle Joe, grinning. "I bet Kirby can repeat the feat his ancestors pulled off!"

"You're confident... but I'm not a mere monster." stated the black ball. "As I am a good sportsman, I will give you the opportunity to give up now and join the NME. There is no meaning in fighting me. As much as I'd like to avenge my ancestors... there's still the fact that you are absolutely no match for me and that I would gain no glory from such a victory."

Serty stared at Dark Reaper for a while... "Dark Reaper... you do not seem like such a bad guy. Why do you serve the interests of a corporation which Nightmare has no control upon? Kirby and his friends are on our side! They, too, want to rid the Universe of Evil! Good NME agents such as you and me should join with them and defeat the traitors that abuse Nightmare's generosity to further their evil ambitions!"

Dark Reaper began to laugh!... and laugh!... and laugh!

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAHA! GUWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! Haaa... and I tought you were weak-willed! Well, it looks like you were not weak... you were just a bit too idealistic."

Serty raised an eyebrow (way of talking). "Huh?"

"We cannot save everyone, young Dream Matter! Sometimes, one must kill civilians and finish off an enemy's family. Planets must sometimes be destroyed, Serty!" said the black ball, speaking to Serty as if he was talking to a kid.

"I'm not a young little Dream Matter anymore!" said harshly the yellow puffball, angered by Dark Reaper's speech. "I am mature now! I will receive no orders from the likes of you! You who are willing to throw your principles away to achieve victory!"

Dark Reaper hovered backward a bit and closed his eye... "Well... too bad. Kirby, MetaKnight, and all the others... do you agree with Serty?"

Sirica stepped foward too! "Yeah we agree! You can shove your offer where the sun doesn't shine!"

"Such crude language!" said Dark Reaper, with an annoyed tone. He slowly opened his eye... "Soldiers... FIRE AT WILL!"

The eyes begun to flash and then, black thunderbolts flied about from every direction, toward the group! Kirby was shocked by several thunderbolts at once and screamed... and then, Tiff's screams joined his as she was struck as well. Sirica and Knuckle Joe tried to evade the attacks... in vain.

MetaKnight stood there, staring at Galaxia's blade... and wondered why the thunderbolts were somehow rebounding off him... and then, he remembered how the legends spoke of Galaxia...

"The holy blade surrounded by golden light. The holy sword that cleave the veil of darkness and repel evil."

The holy sword that cleave the veil of darkness and repel evil? Then, he understood! Those thunderbolts were not made of electricity but of dark energy! Since the sword was made of the opposite energy, the two were repelling each others, causing the black bolts to harmlessly rebound off him!

He knew what he had to do! He grabbed Kirby's hand and instantly, as the holy sword's power surged throught the pink puffball, the black thunderbolts stopped harmed him.

"KIrby! Grap Tiff's hand!" ordered the knight.

Kirby grabbed Tiff's hand and the black energy was repelled from her body. Then, Tiff grabbed Knuckle Joe's hand and the same happened... then the same happened to Sirica. Finally, Sirica grabbed Serty's hand... and now, the thunderbolts were no longer affecting them.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" ordered Dark Reaper, noticing that his soldiers' attacks were no longer working.

"Sir! What's happening?" asked one of the eyes in the veil of darkness.

Dark Reaper didn't anwsered... he hovered there for what seemed to be an eternity and then... "Very impressive! Altought the Holy Blade lost a great deal of it's power over time... it seems that it still is strong enough to counter even the power of a group of highly skilled Dark Matters! Well... sadly for you, the Holy Blade will not save you from my wrath. Troops! Get me my sword!"

A capsule that was looking like those Serty carried was thrown above Dark Reaper. He closed his eye and concentrated... and then, an opening appeared in the lower half of his body, forming some kind of mouth and then, a long tentacle-like tongue came out of the mouth and grabbed the caspule! Dark Reaper swallowed it and then, he transformed!

His spikes vanished and he fell to the ground... but then, an arm spawned on his right side. In his hand was a fine-looking sword...

"What the... those things can use Copy?" said Tiff.

"The power of Copy originally belonged to the Dark Matter specie. Nightmare gave us, Dream Matters, the power of Copy bygiving usDark Matters characteristics." stated Serty.

"That's right, fleshings... and now, I'll cut you down to size!" said Dark Reaper.

Altought he had no feet, it didn't kept the Dark Matter from dashing foward and attempting to slice MetaKnight in two! He blocked the attack with Galaxia!

Kirby knew it was the opportunity! Kirby and everyone exept MetaKnight and Tiff darted into various directions and attacked the veil of darkness!

Knuckle Joe punched foward with a lot of strenght, sending a wave of energy into the veil of darkness! Instantly, a few eyes exploded and an opening appeared in the veil!

Sirica slashed horizontally into the veil, cutting down a few eyes. Again, a hole was made in the veil.

Serty struck without using an ability. He kicked one of the eyes!... and was surprised to see a black sphere that looked like Dark Reaper but smaller fly into the wall and slam into it! So... those were, in fact, tons of semi-liquid balls all lined together to form a wall of some sort!

Kirby, him, tried to inhale the eyes in front of him... but for some reason, they did not even move an inch.

Serty turned around and noticed that Kirby couldn't do much without an ability... he also knew that as long as Dark Reaper was busy dueling with MetaKnight, the veil of darkness would not strike... but they needed to do something and fast! Dark Reaper could order the dark beings to attack any second...

Tiff looked around. She was of no assistance while the others needed her but then... she had a weird idea. Maybe she could call the Warpstar for Kirby to use on those freaks? It would probably not work but between that and doing nothing...

"Kirby!" she turned to Kirby, who stopped inhaling and turned to face her. Instantly, he understood what he had to do... "WARPSTAR!" yelled Tiff!

"Warpstar." repeated a loud voice, back on Popstar...

Tiff stood there... and nothing happened. Well, it was worth trying at least... but then, suddenly, there was that familiar sound...

wizzz... zzzz... ZZZZZZZZ...

FLASH!

The Warpstar knocked down the wall of darkness covering the exit as it entered, scattering Dark Matters everywhere! It passed throught the veil of darkness and stopped in front of Kirby.

Everyone stopped fighting and Dark Reaper turned to Kirby... The pink puffball was grinning... "Oh no..." said the black ball.

"Puyo!" replied the pink puffballbefore proceeding toinhale the Warpstar... and in a flash of light, he was grasping a familiar weapon...

Dark Reaper stood there and all the eyes in the darkness widened...

Kirby swung the Star Rod with all of his strenght and then...

FLASH!

A hurricane of stars and light filled the room and the darkness was totally consumed. Black liquid was splattered over the walls everywhere... even Dark Reaper exploded.

However, unlike his troops, Dark Reaper would not die. He would not be defeated so easily. The black liquid gathered and Dark Reaper reformed, this time, back in his original form.

"So... the rumors were true.YouCAN wield the Star Rod... impressive. However, the Star Rod's power is limited. You can maybe inflict pain on me and the Great Nightmare using it... but the Star Rod cannot kill us. Well, I guess this means that we shall meet again!... should you survive that long, that is! As fornow... goodbye!"

The black sphere flied throught the door and escaped, leaving the group there...

Serty turned to face the legendary weapon Kirby was wielding... "It's weird... I tought that according to reports, the Star Rod could only form if it had a matching opposite force nearby like Nightmare..."

"Dark Reaper said he was a Great General." stated Tiff. "Maybe this was enough to trigger the Star Rod's power?"

"Maybe..." said Sirica. "But I believe that our first priority should be to rob Serty of any Maxim Tomatoes he may be carrying. Those black thunderbolts did NOT feel good."

"HEY! It's MY stuff!" replied Serty quickly, panicked at the idea that MetaKnight might steal his stuff again!

Kirby laughed upon seeing Serty's expression. Sooo funny!

* * *

Nightmare stood in front of a small bunny-like creature, holding a strange clawed tool.

"Oh! Don't be scared cute little thingy! The analysis will not hurt!... well... not until I put that thing in your body!" stated the caped villain, grinning evilly.

He was about to pierce the creature's skin with his tool when...

"MASTER! MASTER!" screamed a purple Waddle Dee.

SWEEEEEEES!

SRRRRRRR!

Nightmare was startled and cut the creature's head off with his tool unstead of just making holes into his skin! Nightmare's face had turned red with rage as he turned to face the tiny servant before him.

"I HOPE FOR YOU THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD JUSTIFICATION TO BOTHER ME, WORM!" screamed the tall nightmarish villain.

The Waddle Dee made a few steps backward, terrorised. "So... sorry Master..." he whispered. "I... I just wanted to give you a report on that Dark Reaper guy..."

Nightmare instantly cheered up. His face returned to it's normal color and his anger was replaced by a nice smile. What was the death of a single experiment compared to the destruction of the last great threat to the NME's reign?

"So... Great Dark Reaper finally destroyed that pink marshmallow, didn't he? I hope that his end was "not too horrible"! Heh! Give me the juicy details! Like when his brain went boom and splattered all over the walls!" said the caped evil mastermind.

The servant hesitated... instantly, Nightmare suspected the worst... and unfortunately, his suspicion was correct.

"Errr... well... something WAS splattered over the walls... but it was not Kirby's brain, sorry. Kirby summoned the Star Rod and well... he downright crushed Dark Reaper and his troops." said the Waddle Dee, his voice filled with terror as he knew that he would take the rabbit's place should Nightmare be angered against him...

... and angered Nightmare was! His face turned red again!

He turned toward the torture table where the beheaded corpse was and then screaming in rage, banging the table with his right hand and crushing the small body! Instantly, blood, bones, and organs were sent flying about, making Nightmare's cape all dirty!... which angered him even further!

"AAAAAAAAAAARG!" screamed the villain. "I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! GET ME A CLEAN CAPE... NOW!"

The Waddle Dee ran for it's life! Nightmare stood there and relaxed...

"Man! I should try and get rid of that stupid habit! I'm lucky I only got my cape dirty this time! Last time, my hand got stuck in the trash compactor and... errr... I just don't wanna think about it..."

Nightmare did not notice the Waddle Dee spying on him, just outside the room...

* * *

Waddle Doo was inspecting the ship that the Waddle Dees had built...

"Hmm... interesting technology! I'd better note all this down so that we might build it back at home..."

"SIR! SIR!" yelled a small Waddle Dee, entering the ship.

Waddle Doo turned around. He knew why the Waddle Dee was here...

"When angry, Nightmare will slam his right hand into something, no matter where he is or in what situation he is! This could of some use!" stated the Waddle Dee.

Then, he left as suddenly as he appeared.

If he had a mouth, Waddle Doo would have smiled... "Operation Spoiled Rotten Inside Out is progressing very well..."

* * *

After what seemed to be an eternity, the group made it to the heart of the shrine.

The Star Rod had somehow vanished by now. It seemed that since it was no longer needed, it had returned to it's resting place.

Everyone was in a good shape thanks to Serty's capsules... altought he had whined all the way that it was not fair that only his stuff was used. But he was remainded constantly that the reason why they used his stuff was that he was the ONLY one with capsules. After all, he was the only ex-NME agent around!

The heart of the shrine was a GIGANTIC circular room. It was so large it was hard to believe it. In the back of the room, just at the base of the wall was a pedestal...

"I can't believe it's real!" said Knuckle Joe.

"It's so beautiful..." said Tiff.

A strange white paintbrush with weird patterns on it was on the top of the pedestal. The tip of the paintbrush was glowing in a strange green light...

"Magicka... the long lost Legendary Weapon..." whispered MetaKnight.

Sirica looked around, confused. "Well... something called Twin Woods is supposed to be guarding that thing... but the room is empty!"

"PUYO!" yelled Kirby, dashing toward the paintbrush!

"NO! IT COULD BE A TRAP!" yelled everyone!... but it was too late.

When Kirby made halfway to the paintbrush, a gigantic slate of crystal fell from the ceiling and blocked the exit, trapping the group within. Then, the pedestal sunk deep in the basement... and then, the ground cracked open and two gigantic trees rose... one to the left, the other to the right.

"Well well well! What do we have here? You mustn't be too bright if you made it all the way to steal Magicka from us!" said the right tree.

There was a moment of silence...

"Not very talkative folks, isn't it bro?" asked the left tree.

"Yes. I guess that they must be scared stiff!" replied the right one.

"Well... I grow tired of looking at them! Should we go on and test them?" asked the left tree...

Kirby looked at the two. He wondered how two trees could appear out of nowhere... but then, he noticed something! Those trees had apples!... and he happened to be hungry! What good luck!

"Puyo! Poy!" said Kirby, pointing the apples!

The two trees' eyes widened as they turned toward Kirby and stared at him intently...

"Hey! Did I heard it right or did that puffball just spoke inthe evillanguage?" asked the right tree.

"You didn't dreamed!" said the left one.

"Then they can only be bad guys! Let us skip the "testing" phase and let us blow them out of our home!" said the right tree, grinning.

"A Star Warriors gets out of a battle to enter another..." tought MetaKnight as he unsheated Galaxia.

"KIRBY! MOVE!" yelled Tiff!... but Kirby stood there and stared at the apples.

"What do you want, pinky stuff? Why do you stare at me like that? You want apples? Heh! I'll give ya apples!" stated the right tree, grinning.

The right tree begun to shake about... and at least a thousands apples fell out of the tree and landed on the pink puffball!

"HAHAHAHA" laughed the tree.

"KIRBY!" yelled both Tiff and Serty at the same time.

"HAHAHAHAHAha... huh? What the..." said the tree.

The apple pile begun to shake... and then, it disappeared!... or more exactely, it was eaten by Kirby! "Puyo!" it happily stated!

Both trees turned red with rage. "Did you heard that bro?" asked the right tree.

"Yep!... that calls for a dual hurricane breath combo!" stated the left one.

The two inhaled and then, it became obvious that not only were they strangely similar to Whipsy Woods... but just like the old tree, those two also had a seriously strong breath attack!

The wind that was shot from their wooden mouths was so strong that it instantly sent Kirby slamming into the nearest wall!

Again, Tiff and Serty called to Kirby.

Kirby slowly stood up and stumbled a bit. He was a bit dizzy from being slammed into the wall... but nothing too serious. The trees were angered even further seeing how their attack hadn't killed the pink puffball outright.

"I can't believe this!" said the right tree.

"Bah! Those things happen. I don't think it can withstand the Wood Saw however." said the left one.

"Yeah! No one can survive that attack! Even that pink puffball thingy!" stated the right tree.

The two grinned evilly... and then, they begun to spin about wildly!

Tiff turned to MetaKnight. "MetaKnight! I don't know about you... but I don't want to see them unleash that attack... and judging from the way they're spinning about, I bet that it's becease they're winding up for that attack! Can you stop them, MetaKnight?" she asked.

MetaKnight tought... maybe he could stop one of the trees by stabbing it with Galaxia... but there were two of them. He would need help from Sirica...

"Sirica, on three, you will dash to the left tree and stab it's center with all of your strenght." ordered MetaKnight.

Altought Sirica preffered to follow her own instincts rather than follow orders when in battle, she had the feeling that she wouldn't be able to stop that attack alone... as such, she nodded, confirming that she would follow the knight in his plan.

MetaKnight leaned foward, placing the golden sword behind him... "Alright now... THREE!"

Both of them dashed toward the trees as they reached top speed. Kirby stood there, wondering why the trees were spinning about...

SLAAAAAAAAAAASH!

MetaKnight and Sirica struck just as the two trees unleashed their ultimate attack! A large portion of the right tree's trunk was shot toward Kirby!

Everyone gasped!... but the Wood Saw's trajectory changed just as it was able to strike Kirby, causing the gigantic deadly piece of flying wood to fly toward the left tree unstead.

"NO! WE MISFIRED!" screamed the right tree, realising that the stab from each of their two foes had changed the angle of the saw to change trajectory!

SSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!

The left tree screamed as it was neatly cut in two by the gigantic saw... and then, both the dead tree and the saw fell to the ground. The right tree stood there, staring at the left tree for a while... and then, it slowly withered since the Wood Saw did not returned and without it's trunk, the tree cannot survive long...

As the right tree withered, there was a bright flash of light and the two guardians were gone as suddenly as they had appeared... and the pedestal was back at it's original location.

Kirby stood up and looked around, a bit confused. It had went so quickly... he had been unable to grasp much of the battle... in fact, he didn't realised it was a battle until he had been slammed into the wall.

The others ran to him to see if he was OK...

"Thankfully, you're not hurt!" said Tiff, smiling.

"Kirby is a hardly puffball, I must say... but well, that's the advantage of being a puffball. Being slammed into walls isn't as painful for beings as us as it is to beings like MetaKnight or Knuckle Joe." stated Serty.

The group stood there for a while... and then, they all turned toward the holy weapon, Magicka, which was glowing quietly on it's pedestal...

"Well, I guess it is time to take it!" said Sirica!

She approached the weapon and grabbed it... but then, she felt pain as an incredible surge of energy shocked her! She dropped Magicka and fell off the pedestal...

BAM!

Tiff ran up to Sirica. "Are you alright?"

Sirica slowly stood up. "Ye... yeah! More shocked than anything else! Looks like that thing is protected by something more than just a few trees!"

MetaKnight closed his eyes and tought... it was awfully similar to the way Galaxia would not let itself be stolen from anyone... maybe Sirica wasn't the kind of person that could wield Magicka?

Kirby jumped on the top of the pedestal and stared at it. "Puyo?"

He grabbed it and suffered the same fate as Sirica.

Then, Knuckle Joe tried his luck... not to avail. After that, MetaKnight tried to take the weapon... but was once again denied. Serty was the next one to try. Just like the others, he was shocked...

The only one left was Tiff...

Tiff stood in front of the paintbrush... and she was feeling rather nervous. The paintbrush was a legendary weapon... and as such, it was only natural that it would choose a worthy wielder... and she KNEW that she was not this wielder! She had no talents when it came to art and anyway, she's not much of a fighter anyway! Why would Magicka choose her?

She closed her eyes and grabbed the paintbrush, especting the surge of energy... but... it didn't came.

"So... you are the One I have been looking for... the One I have awaited for such a long time..." whispered a rather feminine voice...

Tiff slowly opened her eyes. She was no longer in the tower. In fact, she was back on Pop Star, in the middle of the woods near Cappytown... exept that the woods felt... different.

In front of her, an unknow humanoid figure wearing green clothes and a strange red hat was staring at her. Altought no physical details could be seen, she could see her tears very clearly...

"If someone is hearing this message... then it means that we will have failed. I am one of the last of my kind... an once proud specie that came from afar... Our passion was the world. Throught science, we would understand the world... and using imagination, we would reshape it. Technology was one way to reshape the world... magic was another... and then, there was art... the way to alter the world throught perceptions. This tool you have is the bridge between one's imagination and the true world. If one is true to himself, then Magicka will allow your soul to surpass itself and allow you to grow further. Altought I may not know of your intentions when you find this sacred tool... I will ask you to use it to create a bright future for all life... for while Magicka is powerful, it is unable to make the difference between Good and Evil and if it falls in the hands of a being with terrible intentions... then I fear for the safety of all that is beautiful in this world. Now... please take care of Magicka and use it for the good of everyone..."

With that said, the figure faded as well as the forest. She was back in the tower and she was holding Magicka in her right hand. Altought the paintbrush was massive, about her size, it felt as if it was nothing but a feather. She twirled it about, feeling as if the weapon was guiding her very moves, causing her to know exactely how to wield with the greatest of ease...

Then, in a flash of light, Magicka disappeared... altought she could still feel it's presence. The weapon was within her, waiting to be called whenever needed...

"Tiff? Are you alright?" it was Serty. The yellow puffball was staring at Tiff, not recognising her for some reason...

"I have the weird feeling... that you have changed." stated MetaKnight.

Tiff looked at herself. No... she had not changed... and yet... maybe she had? Altought she could not grasp the full meaning of what the figure had said, she had the feeling that she had matured a bit for some reason... but maybe it was her imagination or Magicka toying with her mind. After all, Magicka was a sentient weapon...

Tiff slowly got off the pedestal. "Well... our job is done here. Let us return." she stated.

Everyone nodded... and then, Serty sighed loudly. This meant that they would have to pass throught that nasty forest again... and that also meant that MetaKnight would once again steal his capsules!

Everyone laughed seeing Serty's expression...

Thus, the group begun it's journey back to the ship...

TO BE CONTINUED


	14. Dreamy Intermission

Copyrighted characters belongs to their rightful owners blah blah blah...

* * *

Kirby opened his eyes... and he couldn't recognise where he was. Everything was so blurry... and he also felt so dizzy...

Then, there were those strange feelings in his body... Strangely enough, he was feeling a bit... different. Yet, it didn't felt wrong just... different.

"Kirby..." said a soft, feminine voice.

Kirby turned to see the one who had such a voice... it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. It was so calm, soft, warm... and it was filled with love and care... but in a different from how anyone had ever spoke to him. He had felt that he had been spoken to not as a friend or as a child... but as something else... altought he could not understand what exactely.

"Do you remember?" it asked.

Remember what? He was so confused...

"I understand... just relax..." said the voice.

Something approached him... and for some strange reason, he instantly guessed... no... he KNEW that it was the one who possessed such a beautiful voice. The being hugged him... the being was about his size and the contact felt nicer than anything he had ever experienced before... but then, the being somehow floated away...

"You must remember... remember who you are..." said the voice as it faded.

Kirby awoke in his bed, in his small room within the Destrayar. The feelings which the dream had brought him were gone... but the memories of those feelings and those words remained. Remember who he is? He is Kirby, a friend of MetaKnight, Serty, Tiff, and all the others! He will also eat all the baddies who attempt to hurt his friends and beat up Nightmare again!

Kirby turned around a few times, trying to find a comfortable position and finally, found one. Then, he promptly fell asleep again... and altought he dreamt again, he would not remember the dreams that followed, unlike this strange one with the warm voice...

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAARG!" screamed Serty as he awakened. 

Serty looked around... it was only a nightmare... only a stupid nightmare... again.

Serty jumped off his bed. Ever since he had left the NME base for that mission, he had nightmares every single night. First, he had nightmares of Kirby killing everyone... and now, he has nightmares of that Dark Reaper killing everyone... how original. Why couldn't he have another dream, just for once?

Serty got out of the room and begun to walk throught the empty corridors of the spaceship, trying to forget about that nightmare... but then, the yellow puffball felt strange... he felt as if some kind of power had awakened nearby... but then, he figured out it was just his imagination playing tricks on him and as such, he carried on, going toward the cockpit where MetaKnight would probably be waiting for him or something like that...

* * *

Tiff stood in front of the empty canvas, the massive paintbrush Magicka in her right hand and a plate covered with paint in her left hand. 

Tiff stood there, staring at the whiteness of the canvas, her mind blank...

"Why did Magicka chose me?" she whispered to herself. "I'm barely interested in art at all! What interest me is learning about how things work, where things come from, why they work like this... science, in short! I have no real talent in art..."

She placed the tip of Magicka into the paint... but then, she had the feeling that someone was telling her that this was not needed... and as such, she placed the plate back on her desk.

She kept on staring at the canvas... and then drew a flower. The flower was very ugly and unconvaincing...

"Magical paintbrush or not... I have no talent..." she repeated to herself.

She looked around frantically, looking for a source of inspiration... ANY source of inspiration! She noticed her science book on her desk, next to her plate of paint... for some reason, she felt like painting molecules of water... nah! This isn't art!

But then, there was this strange feeling again... like a whisper... a whisper that told her that anything could be art.

Well, what harm is there in trying?

Tiff stare at the canvas and passed Magicka over the badly-drawn flower. It instantly disappeared. Then, she begun to paint... and to her surprise, when she was done, the molecule was so real-looking that she wondered if she was dreaming!... then, an extraordinary event happened!

The molecule slowly floated out of the canvas, floated until it reached Tiff's face and morphed into a micro drop of water...

The strange feeling again... This time, it told her that as long as she use her heart when painting, anything she will create will be art.

Tiff stared at Magicka... and finally, she realised why the paintbrush had chosen her...

* * *

"... and I'll place Magicka on that shelf! Don't you think it's a good idea, Metty?" finished 02, smiling sweetly at the maskless dark blue puffball. 

"Err... I believe we should wait until Dark Reaper return with the Legendary Weapons before deciding where to place them... and beside, why place them in your room? A high-tech safe would be better, I think..." stated the puffball.

"Bah! Wherever I place them? As soon as I'll have drained them of their powers, they'll be nothing more than just cheap but colorful pieces of whatever they're made of!" said the dark queen.

Dark MetaKnight rolled his eyes... no, not before he was annoyed... no, he was FAR from being annoyed! No, he rolled his eyes becease he couldn't believe the queen could act like this. She truly was different around him... in fact, she was so different he sometimes wondered how she could act in such a cruel manner when she was around others...

"I'll get your dress..." stated the black knight.

"No, you don't!" replied quickly the queen, grinning in a weird way...

"Huh?" Dark MetaKnight wondered what was that about...

"I just found my old Nightmare disguise while searching throught the shelves!" stated the queen.

The queen twirled the massive dark blue cape around and then put it on. She stood in a triumphant pose, her face covered with the mask and her host body covered with the cape. She was wearing a pair of gauntlets that truly looked like Nightmare's hands!... in fact, she looked like a miniature Nightmare!

"So... how do I look like?" asked the queen.

"Absolutely gorgeous, my queen!" anwsered the dark blue puffball.

02 blushed under the mask and begun to giggle like a teenage girl! "Hehehehe! Oh! Oh you! Hehehee... hmm... well! I was more talking about if I looked like Nightmare or not in that disguise..."

"Apart from the size, I would confuse you for Great Nightmare anyday!" said the knight.

"Heh! It's true that it's a good disguise. Remember when I used it for the first time? It was more than ten millenias ago, the day of your first birth, back when you were existing thanks to the Dual Mirror's power and not mine..." said the queen.

Dark MetaKnight remembered this moment... it was back when the original Kirby was alive. Dark MetaKnight had fought the real MetaKnight and had easily defeated him. Then, he had sealed Galaxia away and went to lead 02's troops as she took over the Mirror World... but then, Kirby arrived...

Altought he had struck Kirby with a special curse 02 had prepared herself to weaken him, Kirby fought valiently... in fact, Kirby defeated him. Altought the Pink Demon's power had been spreaded into four separate bodies, it seemed as if even when split in pieces, the Pink Demon acted as one... and as such, the curse didn't have much effect.

In the end, that cursed Kirby assassinated the generals that were leading the assault on the Mirror World and took back the broken pieces of the Mirror Portal back from them. Then, Kirby used the Mirror Portal to teleport directly to the Mirror World's version of Dark Star and fought with the dark knight a final time.

Dark MetaKnight unleashed his full power... but Kirby was too strong and after a long fight, the Pink Demon struck him one last time... and this last attack was fatal. His body shattered like glass and his soul left the remains of his body.

It took many years for 02 to rebuild a new body for him... and as such, when he was revived, she told him everything that happened on the day when he had been struck down.

It seems that Kirby was somehow able to not only defeat 02 in her disguise but he could also beat up her real body, thus forcing her soul back into the void AND shattering the Legendary Weapon, the Dual Mirror. Thus, the Dark Matters could never conquer the Mirror World...

"The Pink Demon was strong... but his reincarnation is not. I bet Dark Reaper must have defeated him, by now!" said the black knight.

"Oh! I'm sure of it!" said the queen.

She continued to search throught her old disguises... and found a dusty old wizard robe and a witch hat.

"Hey! That's the clothes that fool Drawcia used to wear!" she exclaimed.

"According to what I've heard... this is the closest to world domination you ever came to... excluding today! A creature from the Painting World, Drawcia, was misunderstood and wanted the world to be of paint so that everyone might understand her. As you travelled throught the void in your spirit form, heading back toward Dark Star after your last defeat at the hands of Kirby, you felt her strong desires... and you knew it was an opportunity that was worth it! After discussing with the painting creature, you created Magicka out of her desires and as she sold her soul to you for the paintbrush, you gained your new body. Then, you begun to turn the world into paint... but Kirby came, as usual. Drawcia, using your gift, cursed Kirby to become a ball and thus, he was made useless and the world's transformation resumed! Finally, the world seemed to be yours!... but Drawcia tought that she didn't needed the paintbrush anymore and thrown it away... and then, Kirby found it and used it to destroy Drawcia and you as well, yet again..." said Dark MetaKnight.

Dark MetaKnight catched his breath. He had said all that quickly and without pausing even once.

"Heh! Anyway..." 02 took off the disguise finding herself without clothes once more. "I'm more comfortable this way..."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Proximity alert..." stated the black knight as he put his armor and mask back on.

"HMPH! I tought I stated very clearly that every agent today had to go to the NME base and make sure that the possession and corruption of all Demon Hunters is going according to plan!" said the queen, putting her dress back on.

BLAAAAM!

"MY QUEEN! MY QUEEN!" yelled the small NZ Dark Trooper as he barged into the room!

The NZ stopped in his tracks as he saw Dark MetaKnight, standing in the corner of the room and whistling like an idiot for some odd reason...

"Errr... Great Dark MetaKnight? What are you doing in Our Excellency's room?" asked the small grey ball.

"He was showing me his report on the NME operations, you moron! Now get to the point already so I can kick you out of the room and resume this very important meeting!" said the queen.

"Ha? Is that so? Then why is he..." the NZ couldn't finish his sentance before 02 grabbed him and slammed him into the ground with all of her strenght!

The NZ was slammed so hard into the floor that the whole castle shook!

"Ouch..." said the poor soldier.

02 kicked the NZ in the face, forcing him to stand up! "GO ON WITH WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY! GO ON BEFORE I REDUCE YOU TO LITTLE BITS!" she screamed in rage!

"OW! OW! OW! I'LL GET TO IT! I'LL GET TO IT!" yelped the grey ball as he cowered before the queen, terrorised!

The NZ Dark Trooper calmed down (well... he tried, anyway) and then stated his report.

"My... my Queen! Dark Reaper! He..." the Dark Trooper couldn't finish his sentance that a black ball collided into him and sent him flying into the closest wall!

"WHY ME?" cried the NZ as he was slammed into the wall.

Dark Reaper turned around, looking around confused. "Huh? Huh? Did I made it? Did I... err..."

Dark Reaper noticed 02 standing there, her face bright red like fire. Her eyes were burning with hatred and a tear of blood slowly flowed out of her left eye and landed at her feet, melting the beautiful carpet with it's corrosive properties.

"Oh! Dark MetaKnight? What are you..." the black spiky ball stopped, noticing how his queen was staring at him... "Excuse me, my Queen... really... excuse me. I'll go on with the report."

Dark Reaper closed his eye, shuddered, and then begun his report, sensing that this would not end well... "Great Queen of Darkness... I and my troops have engaged with Kirby's reincarnation on the planet Floria, on the edge of the solar system and... errr... I am ashamed but... I must inform you that we ran into slight problems... and were... errr... how can I put it? Oh yes... we were... defeated."

02's frown was slowly replaced by a maniacal grin...

* * *

"So? Everything is going according to plan?" asked Nightmare, staring at his servant, Yamikage. 

"Yes sir! Every..." he could not finish his sentance...

BAAAAAM!

"YOU INCOMPETANT MORON!" screamed a feminine voice. It screamed so loudly that the entire base shook.

"What was that, master?" asked the ninja, confused.

Nightmare turned toward one of the windows, looking throught it and staring at Dark Star, the planet above which the base was located...

"Errr... that was nothing... carry on." said Nightmare, suddenly feeling embarassed for some strangereason.

* * *

"I'm thankful that my body is liquid. Any bone in my body would have been snapped." stated Dark Reaper, who had been smashed into the wall... 

"Just... shut up, will you? We have enough incompetance with that moron Nightmare running around! Now... where do you think they'll be going next?" asked the queen, after finally calming down.

The black puddle next to the wall reformed itself, taking the form of a sphere and then, large brown spikes as well as an eye came out of it.

"Ha! I'm feeling better..." said the Dark Matter to itself... but after seeing the killer gaze of it's queen, it decided to anwser the question before she decided to slam him into the wall again...

"Well, I believe that the closest planet to their position should be Aquatiss." stated the black sphere.

The Queen smiled and sat down on her throne. "Aquatiss... the planet of the flow of time... such an uninteresting place. I doubt they'll find anything there. Regroup our all-new corrupted Demon Hunters and send them to our base at Skyhigh! I want that lousy clone and his friends to have a little surprise when they get there..."

"Yes, my Queen." stated Dark Reaper, before flying out of the room.

02 grinned and pressed a button on her throne, causing a monitor to drop down from the ceiling and to position itself in front of her.

"Now... all I have to do is waiting... waiting for the fireworks! Heeheehee! HEEHEEHEE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the evil queen burst into maniacal laughter, imagining Kirby's imminent death at the hands of her troops at Skyhigh...

* * *

"KIRBY!" yelled Serty, staring angrily at the pink puffball as he inhaled his breakfast in about a quarter of a second. 

"He always do that." stated flatly Siricia.

"I know that!" replied harshly Serty, frowning. "But it's no reason for letting him do that! You have to eat in half a second, not a quarter! You ate too fast and almost swallowed my breakfast!"

Kirby frowned seeing Serty getting all upset and simply said: "Poyo..."

Serty suddenly remainded himself that Kirby was nothing but a kid after all... and felt guilty from getting all angry just becease the puffball had ate a quarter of a second too quickly... "Don't sweat it little guy... I'm sorry."

Siricia sighed loudly, visibly being bored. "Alright... so Tiff got a Legendary Weapon... but I doubt this is nearly enough... especially considering how useless the girl is..."

Tiff, hearing that, stood up. "HEY! I'm NOT useless!"

"Tiff, keep your calm. Siricia didn't mean it. Anyway... we do need more Legendary Weapons if we are to challenge Nightmare again. Do you have any ideas of where the other weapons may be, Knuckles Joe? Serty?" asked MetaKnight.

The blonde-haired kid turned to the yellow puffball. Both stared at each others... and then turned to MetaKnight.

They had discussed on the way to the dinning room and let's just say that MetaKnight may not like the anwser...

"Well... er..." Serty became suddenly very shy and stopped.

"Actually..." Knuckle Joe rubbed the back of his head, embarassed.

Tiff raised an eyebrow, MetaKnight sighed, and Kirby smiled innocently.

"Get to the point already." asked Tiff.

"Well... according to what I heard... the whereabout of the other weapons is well... pretty much unknow..." stated Serty.

Everyone frowned... but Knuckle Joe intervened, continuing Serty's explanation. "BUT we do have some clues! According to what Serty had learnt back at the NME base, there's something sealed within Aquatiss, the water world!"

MetaKnight closed his eyes. "Aquatiss... the planet of memories... I heard that memories flows from this sacred ground... and that the Fatty Whale, a terrible beast born from the Star Warriors' power, guards the depths of the planet..."

Tiff smiled. "I bet that Stardux, the Legendary Hammer, must be there! Else... why would there be a Star Warrior guardian there?"

MetaKnight shook his head. "No... there is no weapon there. Aquatiss is a holy ground for the Star Warriors. According to the rumors, the flow of Time has no effect on this place and causes all memories there to be forever frozen. Legends are conserved in this place... in their original form, unaltered by time and perceptions."

Tiff frowned, disappointed... but her smile quickly returned as she realised that maybe visiting this world could be worthwhile! "MetaKnight! You said that the legends are conserved in their original state there, right?"

MetaKnight nodded and Tiff's smile widened. "Then the legends of the Legendary Weapons will be definitely be there, intact! Since we're out of clues, this is the best place to look!"

Everyone smiled. Kirby didn't understood how they would get clues out of those legends... but stories are always fun so he was happy too!

There was little to add to what Tiff had said and thus, everyone quickly finished eating their breakfasts and resumed the daily routine aboard the Destrayar, the ship now heading toward the small water planet...

But as everyone left the ship's cafeteria, Kirby felt a chill down his spine and turned back toward the table... for a second, he tought he seen black ooze drop down from the ceiling on the table...

He approached the table but he was too short to see anything... so he jumped on it! He looked around, his large child eyes filled with curiosity... but there was nothing on the table. Not even the slightest trace of liquid...

"Poyo." slowly stated Kirby, thinking that he must have REALLY ate his breakfast a bit too quickly...

As Kirby sprinted out of the room, a single eyestared at him...

* * *

"My Queen! I made it just for you..." stated the evil knight, blushing. 

A look of total boredom was all over 02's face as she stared at the gold bowl containing a strange purple slime with red, blue, and green energies swirling inside...

"It's a common soul soup." she commented, her voice flat as the floor...

Dark MetaKnight frowned under his mask. "I'm sorry if I'm not as skilled as the Chef... but I tried my best. Making a good soul soup requires the cold and effective murder of an innocent child, a defenseless mother, and a loving father. All this in liquified suffering and terror."

The evil queen rolled her eyes and took her silver spoon with her delicate, awfully pale right hand... and then, she plunged it in the liquid, taking a bit of the child's soul out as well as a bit of the suffering... she took the liquid to her mouth and slowly swallowed the spoon's content, a child's twisted scream echoing in the room as 02 begun to deal a slow, painful second death to the poor innocent...

02 stood there, silent, as she tasted the fear, suffering, despair of this young soul... as well as the growing worry of the father and mother. Their disgust mixed as well, giving the dish a very great taste...

"Truly... if you praticed more, you could become a Chef, my love!" commented the queen, smiling.

Dark MetaKnight blushed under his black mask and rubbed the back of his head/body, embarassed. "I am not worthy of being called "my love", my Majesty..."

The Dark Matter Queen's smile widened. "It's not like anyone is going to interrupt us in the few next seconds... isn't..." she could not finish her sentance...

SLAAAAAM!

A grey sphere wearing white shoes and with a small horn on the back, to the top of it's frame barged into the room! Judging from how it was covered with bandages, it must be the unfortunate NZ Dark Trooper that the Dark Queen has slammed into the walls so many times...

"MY QUEEN! MY QUEEN! A REPORT!" screamed the small sphere.

02 placed her spoon on the right of her bowl, a bit frustrated but containing her anger... then, she sighed loudly and stood up, staring at the servant with a menacing gaze...

"Errr... I'm sorry my Queen..." apologised quickly the Dark Trooper, especting yet another physical beating... but to his relief, the queen didn't moved.

"There is such a thing as "knocking on the door before you enter", you know! Do that next time... or else! I'll let you go this time... but only becease I am in a good mood! Now... go on with your report before I lose patience!" her voice... was completely neutral and flat... but you could sense the corrosive hatred within...

The NZ Dark Trooper gulped and then reported the situation... "My Majesty! One of our Dark Limba agents has successfully infiltrated the Pink Demon's spaceship! There, he assisted to their secret meeting and learnt that the enemy plans to go to Aquatiss! What is your command, Glorious Queen of Darkness?"

02 grinned. "Aquatiss? Good! Good... Dark MetaKnight... Aquatiss is the place where the legendary beast, Computer Virus, was locked up... right?"

The black knight nodded. "Yes. Computer Virus was a strange monster made of pure data created by one of your rivals. Altought it was defeated by the original Pink Demon... facts are that this monster remains one of the mightiest ever... and as such, you revived it and ever since, it had been serving us well... well, until it went beserk and had to be sealed in the depths of Aquatiss."

The Dark Queen's smile widened. "There's no way those fools will defeat such a powerful, legendary beast. Computer Virus is terrible to behold... and the fact that it is beserk won't help. Really... they stand noooo chance..."

The Dark Trooper listened to all this and it was nice... but it wondered... what of his orders? "My Queen? Sorry to interrupt but... what shall we do? I mean... the enemy is moving!"

02 sat back on her throne and took the silver spoon... "We will do nothing. That stupid clone is bitting on more than he can chew. We'll just stand back and slaughter the survivors when they come out of the ancient ruins on Aquatiss... if they come back alive, that is."

The Dark Trooper bowed to show that he had understood and then got out of the throne room leaving the evil queen and her Great General alone...

"Well... I guess all there is left to do is activate my monitor and watch the pyrotechnics. This won't be quite as flashy as watching the clone get killed by my troops at Skyhigh but well... it will do!" stated the queen, pressing a button on her throne and causing a monitor to come down from the ceiling.

Dark MetaKnight turned his back to 02, as he prepared to leave... "I'll go get the popcorn." he stated before walking out of the room.

TO BE CONTINUED


	15. NOTE: about this version and REVIVAL

This is not a chapter but rather a note. 

I have read the whole story all over again and found myself not satisfied with the way I handled some characters. I also made some mistakes in the plot. To add to this, the fact is that my grammar has improved dramatically and that I now use a spell check program.

For all those reasons, the story is being rewriten. In order to learn of how the story will continue (as well as read the changes to the plot), please read "Beginning of the End? REVIVAL".

As for now, this version of the story is now "completed". I am leaving it on the site for all those of you who might want to continue reading it once in a while.

I thought you would all appreciate that I told you about it rather than leave you all in the dark about the original version's status.

I sincerely hope that the Revival version will please all those of you who liked the original! Thank you for your reviews and comments, everyone!

Have a nice day everyone.


End file.
